Next X
by The Lady Cloudy
Summary: With mutants at constant risk and Xavier only being able to handle so many students at a time a new plan has been devised; a three months training program to teach control, combat, and blending in skills. Will they be able to handle the stress or crack under the pressure? ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to the Mansion

**Next X**

**Chapter One**

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For the beginning of the Next X program, the Danger Room had been converted into a meeting room and filled with sixty chairs so the recruits and students could both attend. Kitty, Kurt, Jean, Scott, and Rogue sat in the last row chatting amongst themselves. Bobby, Sam, Amara, Jubilee, Rahne, and Ray were sitting in the row in front of them with Jamie in the row before them. He knelt on his chair so he could face them and talk with them. Alex Summers and Laura, codenamed X-23, were sitting in another row as they talked. While they weren't a part of the Next X program, they were new students at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters.

Only a few of the thirty recruits were here and they'd been there anywhere between two weeks and two hours. Mia Young, a blonde hydrokinetic who twirled her straight mid-back length hair around a finger nervously as her wide sea green eyes anxiously scanned the room. She had only been around for a day and still really didn't know anyone yet. Zelda Carter, a sixteen-year-old pyrokinetic, stood off by herself, nervously picking at the split ends of her long reddish brown hair as her amber eyes stayed fixed on the ground. Henry Kirkpatrick, a seventeen-year-old from Birmingham, Alabama sat in one of the middle rows as he telekinetically lifted the chair in front of him. He was sickly pale looking with mangy brown hair and dark green eyes. Fifteen-year-old Avery Ratchet leaned against one wall, running a hand through his white blonde hair as he watched the Professor and Ororo talk with a dull hazel gaze.

Four others who'd been found in the past couple of weeks were in a small group in the front row as they talked. The first was a fourteen year old boy by the name of Noah McCarthy who had unremarkable brown eyes and plain brown hair. Fourteen year old Tatiana Lesedi , fiddled with her now chestnut brown hair that she'd cut so it wouldn't get in her way as part of Next X. Her unmatching eyes were warm; one dark blue and the other dark green. Mason Hilman, a fourteen year old psychokinetic, smiled at the others as he ran a hand through his wavy auburn hair and his green eyes were focused mostly on Tatiana. The oldest one in the group was Jake Winston, a seventeen-year-old with shaggy black hair and golden cat-like eyes.

Araia Winters, sixteen, sat beside eighteen-year-old Delilah Wilson as she fiddled with a curl of her thick blonde hair as her silver eyes watched Delilah. Delilah was a petite girl with gray-blue eyes and black hair who seemed a bit uncomfortable being in a room with so many people. She continued to glance over at the nervous looking boy by the name of Damien Dumaye who's dark brown hair fell into his somewhat cold blue eyes.

Victor Stryke, a seventeen year old boy from Germany, with dark gray eyes and dark brown hair sat between two other mutants but didn't talk to either of them. Vio Valid, a fifteen year old boy, was on his left side. Theresa Fray, a seventeen year old girl, who had frizzy auburn hair worn up in a messy ponytail and her brown eyes stared off into space. Behind them sat Roxanne Lovejoy, a sixteen year old with dark auburn hair that fell to her shoulders and green eyes.

After about fifteen minutes the first batch of students who had applied to the program and had gotten in, were led into the room by Logan. They all looked a little bit shaken up, which was probably from having to spend an extended period time with Logan, who tended not to make the best first impressions. Small groups had already formed out of the ten that walked into the room.

The first mini group was made up of seventeen year old Grayson Webber, sixteen year old Alia Saleb, fifteen year old Erica Merrick, sixteen year old James Mercer, and sixteen year old Jesse Taylor. Grayson was a vaguely African-American girl with dark brown eyes and thick dark hair pulled up into a ponytail. Alia was a very athletic girl with olive skin, large green eyes, and almost black dark brown hair that was slightly girl. Erica flipped her highlighted wavy brown hair over her shoulder with a flick of her wrist as her chocolate colored eyes surveyed the scene around her. James had unnerving purple eyes that shifted to green and then red then back to purple again. His black hair was wavy and matched the little goatee he'd grown on his face that was being laughed at by Alia and Erica. Apparently, rich girls bonded quickly even if one was more pretentious than the other. Jesse was a slightly tan skinned young man with black hair that had one white streak in it and dark blue eyes.

The second small group consisted of twelve year old Vienna Eona, fourteen year old Kathrine Proctor, fifteen year old Carmon Ferris, sixteen year old Dorrian Kirkland, and sixteen year old Morden Leston. Vienna was a strange looking, obviously mutated girl, with dark purple hair falling down to her shoulders, electric pink eyes, and skin the color of snow. Her powers had changed her features to appear as though her eyes were lined with lavender liner, purple eye shadow had been dusted on her eye lids, plum colored mascara had been applied to her eye lashes, and dark purple lip stick put on her lips. Kathrine, or Kat as she preferred to be called, was a red head with mismatching eyes (one sky blue and the other forest green). She looked to be like a doll with skin that had a somewhat porcelain like quality, likely linked to her mutation along with the eyes. Carmon, another obvious mutant, had steel gray skin, stormy gray eyes, and short pixie cut brown hair. Dorrian had short blonde hair and forest green eyes. Morden stared off into space with blind milky colored eyes, spikey black hair, and tan skin.

Alia and Erica took seats in the middle of the front row as they continued to talk while other started to file into other rows. Vienna and Kat seemed to be getting along as Kat talked and Vienna listened, occasionally nodding or smiling to show she was engaged in the conversation. Grayson was talking with the others and they took another couple of rows.

Once everyone is seated and in place, Professor Xavier wheeled onto the stage to make his speech to the recruits for Next X.

"Welcome, everyone and thank you to those who applied as well as though who were brought into the program without applications. A few generous donations from the parents of a couple new recruits are what is financing this program and all of us who work at this school for Gifted Youngsters, are very grateful. However, donations are beside the point. On behalf of all the students and staff here at the Xavier Institute for the Gifted I would like to say welcome and I hope that you're excited for the launch of this wonderful new program. Hopefully, Next X will be a success and that this class will be the first of many. Now, I turn the stage over to Ororo Munroe, who will be in charge of Next X and the recruits."

Ororo Munroe smiled happily as she walked onto the stage and stood behind the podium before she began to speak:

"Thirty recruits in an intensive three month long program that will teach them everything they need to know before they return to a world where mutants aren't as accepted as they should be. Some of you have families to go back to after this, but for those who don't we will help you start a new life after you leave the Xavier Institute. These three months will not be easy, but these are tough times and we aspire to help as many mutants as possible. I know all of you don't want to sit around and hear me talk for ages so I'll cut this short. Logan can explain everything else to you tomorrow when you start your first day of training. Now, the room assignments are on the wall and if there's something wrong you can talk to either Logan or I about it. Schedules are in your rooms and the alarm clocks are all set up. Thank you for your time. You're dismissed."

Some of the recruits raced out into the hall way, eager to get the first look at who they would be sharing a room with for the next three months. Others trailed behind them, obviously not as thrilled about spending three months in close quarters with one or two other people. Since it was the basement rooms they were going to share, it only put even more of a damper on the spirits of the few who weren't very excited about being at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters.

Erica Merrick, surprisingly, was the first one to get to the list—mostly due to the fact she was afraid of just who she was stuck in a room with. She hated sharing anything with anyone, especially when it comes to spending a good deal of time with someone else and having them being around her things. Especially with all the nice things she had.

_Room 1: Alia Saleb, Erica Merrick, and Roxanne Lovejoy_

_Room 2: Mia Young, Araia Winters, and Naima Masabni_

_Room 3: Grayson Webber, Zelda Carter, and Meiko Rizzoli_

_Room 4: Tatiana Lesedi, Vienna Eona, and Kathrine Proctor_

_Room 5: Delilah Wilson, Theresa Fray, and Carmon Ferris_

_Room 6: Henry Kirkpatrick, Victor Stryke, and Jake Winston_

_Room 7: Michael Wilks, Amon Patel, and James Mercer_

_Room 8: Damien Dumaye, Jesse Taylor, and Dorrian Kirkland_

_Room 9: Noah McCarthy,Mason Hilman, and Morden Leston_

_Room 10: Avery Ratchet, Vio Valid, and Hunter Harrison_

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**A/N: Sorry it was short. I'll post the next chapter next week. I'm going to try to post a chapter every Sunday. And if I haven't explained why your character wasn't accepted, it's because you either don't have an account (I prefer to PM you since it's more private) or I forgot about it. **


	2. Chapter 2: Powers

**Next X**

**Chapter Two**

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"Why do we have codenames?" Avery complained as the recruits were lined up by the number they had randomly been assigned. He was twenty ninth in line and as Logan passed him, he raised his hand as he opened his mouth. Like the other recruits he was dressed in a plain black bodysuit with boots and gloves that were each a different color, each color unique to every different recruit—in this case, electric yellow.

"Everyone else in Xavier's has a codename so you'd better get picking," Logan threatened as he looked up from the clipboard with the list of the recruits names and their new codenames.

_Grayson: Nimbus_

_Mia: Oceana_

_Alia: Blindspot_

_Zelda: Spark_

_Erica: Zephyr_

_Tatiana: Remedy_

_Araia: Valkyrie_

_Delilah: Nightmare_

_Theresa: Mundane_

_Vienna: Portal _

_Naima: Copycat_

_Roxanne: Shriek_

_Meiko: Spirit_

_Kat: Oracle_

_Carmon: Metallic_

_Henry: Push_

_James: Falcon_

_Damien: Vibe_

_Victor: Volt_

_Jesse: Tech_

_Hunter: Dusk_

_Dorrian: Greycat_

_Morden: Force_

_Vio: Shifter_

_Mason: Psyche_

_Jake: Jaguar_

_Amon: Optik_

_Michael: Rockslide_

"Just pick already," Logan sighed as Avery hesitated in picking his codename and make everything get a little bit behind the schedule.

"Fine, I guess, I'll be…Flashstep!" Avery declared, making a few of the other recruits laugh, especially the girls far down the line. Logan rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath as he continued down to the last one in line, Noah.

"And you?" Logan asked him.

"Stretch," Noah mumbled. Logan scrawled down the name in his usual chicken scratch before he put the list under his arm and walked back to look at all of them. Most were fidgeting nervous and for the most part they weren't paying much attention to him. A few looked fearfully at him and turn away when he looks directly at them. They're scared of him and it's so obvious that it's almost painful.

"Today, there is a test of your physical abilities, your powers, and your general attitude towards being a part of the Next X program. After the test you will be sorted into one of the three groups that will be coached by either 'Ro, Professor X, or me. Those groups are the Spartans, Centurions, and Olympians. No group is better than the other and you will get the chance to compete regularly in Danger Room simulation. 'Ro says it'll be stuff like capture the flag and she's the one setting up the session, not me," Logan told them as he paced back and forth. "That's something you should see yourselves as lucky because of.

"Now, I want each of you to demonstrate your powers without harming anyone and then there will be a brief written test," Logan explained, saying the last part in an annoyed fashion as he cast a irked glare at the control booth of the Danger Room. "We'll go in order. Nimbus, get to it! Show us what you got!"

Nimbus stepped forward, smiling nervously at the others in line. They all watched her with attentive eyes before she bent her knees and jumped into the air. Several students gasped as they watched the girl fly into the air and circle around the ceiling of the Danger Room. As she circled faster, clouds began to form and a little rain even fell. It only took a matter of minutes to finish up her flight and she landed back down in her place in line. Oceana fixed her hair a little bit after Nimbus' windy landing.

"Oceana!"

"Do you have any water?" Oceana asked shyly. Logan signaled to Ororo in the control room and a small whole opened up in the wall, allowing a decent enough amount of water to flow into the room. A few of the recruits back away and one of them even screams. Before the water can touch any of them, Oceana pushes both her hands forward and a wave of water smashes the opposite wall and is sucked back in.

"Blindspot!"

"I can't really demonstrate but, my abilities allow me to enhance one of my own senses to a super human level, while taking away from the others. I can go almost completely undetected by humans by expanding the human blindspot, basically affecting another person's optic nerves. It doesn't work on machines," Alia stammered a bit nervously as she took a step forward before she stepped back. Logan nodded, figuring it would be easier just to leave it at an explanation with her.

"Spark!"

She stepped forward and held out her left hand. When she snapped her fingers, a flame sparked into existence and floated half an inch above her skin. With a twist of her wrist, she made the flames spiral up towards the ceiling and explode into a large shape—an X, for Next X. Some of the recruits clap and a couple shrink back, afraid of the fire. The fire slowly dissipated and Spark stepped back into line.

"Zephyr!"

Zephyr stepped forward, flipping her hair over her shoulder as a breeze blows it back. She flashed a smile at the others, obviously simply loving all of the attention that everyone is now forced to give her. Dramatically, she raises her hands above her head and the air in the room begins to blow in a circle around her, going faster and faster. Then, it goes wrong; the wind started to blow too fast and threw everyone into the walls before Storm could stop it. Erica blushed with embarrassment as she returned to the line.

"Remedy!"

"I can't really demonstrate it," she explained. "I can heal people and, sometimes, inflict injuries on people without touching them or doing anything violent."

"Valkyrie!"

The short girl stepped forward with a sigh and though of the one ability that she could show to everyone else; her lightning manipulation. But that would be a very, very bad idea she realized considering that they were in a huge metal room; a huge conductor. All that she had to do was misplace one little spark and everyone would most likely be electrocuted. She shook her head and stepped back into the line.

"I can't. We're in a huge metal room and I control lightning, that would be really, really bad."

Wolverine shrugs and continues, "Nightmare!"

"My powers are hard to demonstrate without causing pain to others so I will simply explain them to you, I don't want to hurt anyone her or you, Wolverine. My ability is to perceive the emotions of others—such as fear—and create illusions, based on the things I pick up to…torture the person. No you see why I wouldn't demonstrate," Nightmare sighed as she looked bashfully down at the floor, seeming a bit scared.

"Mundane!"

"Like Nightmare and the others, I can't exactly show my powers to you since the effects are kind of…subtle. My ability is power immunity. Mutant abilities simply don't work on me. No one can read my mind, I can walk through force field, conjured weather doesn't affect me. There's a five foot range around me that is, effectively, a 'no power zone' where superhuman abilities just don't work on me," Mundane explained to him.

"Portal!"

The bizarre looking girl took a step forward before reaching out in front of her and literally ripping open a portal, making a few of the other recruits gasp in surprise as she did so. She hesitated for a brief moment before stepping into the portal. A minute passed before the portal was closed. Another minute after that she returned to the room in another portal, though her hair was slightly askew and she seemed a bit tired from using her abilities. A quick nod to Wolverine and then she returned to her place in line.

"Copycat!"

Naima stepped forward as, at the same time, her skin began to ripple like the blood beneath it was boiling and bubbling. Her body contorted in a seemingly painful way as she changed into an exact replica of Vienna Eona, also known as Portal. She turned to face the other students, a smile on her—Vienna's—face. There was scattered applause from a few of the other recruits, but a few of them look afraid by her shape shifting. Again, her skin bubbles frighteningly and then she goes back to herself.

"Shriek!"

"I have a supersonic shriek that can make ears bleed, windows break, shields be destroyed, and even, if I use a lot of energy, earthquakes. It's all from the sound of my voice, but only when I scream so I have a bit of control over my powers." Shriek explains coldly as she doesn't even bother to step forward like the others. She rolls her eyes and a few of the others give her dirty looks, already deciding that they aren't too fond of the girl by the name of Roxanne Lovejoy.

"Spirit!"

Nervously, she steps forward seeming quite fearful of showing her powers off in front of everyone else in the room. She continued to crack her knuckles, an anxiety habit that she always tried to stop but never managed to. Her form flickered in and out of existence for a few minutes before she stayed totally invisible. There were a few scattered whispers of "ghost girl" as she returned to visibility before hovering back to the line a few inches over the ground.

"Oracle!"

"Uh, sir. I can't really demonstrate my powers since they're…like…premonition so I can look into the future. And I'm…uh...like…able to manipulate time a bit, but it's kind of complicated so I don't really want to take the time to explain all of it. So, yeah…" she said before going back to the line.

"Metallic!"

The steel skinned girl strolled out of line and went straight up to Wolverine, walking swiftly so he didn't have much of a chance to react. She, with surprising ease, lifts him over her head much to the shock of everyone else in the room. Especially him. After a few seconds, she sets him down and quickly apologizes about picking him up.

"Lifting someone is the best way to demonstrate enhanced strength. So sorry, Logan!"

"Just don't do it again, bub," Logan warned her. He's still a little bit surprised and slightly taken aback that someone would actually pick him up.

"Push!"

Following Metallic's example, Push lifted up Logan but through a totally different method. He lifted him off the ground, only a couple inches, via telekinesis. A few other people in line appeared confused as to what was going on until someone else explained telekinesis. The majority didn't have a vast knowledge of what types of mutant powers were aside from their own abilities.

"Like Metallic said, sorry, sir."

"Falcon!"

"Can't really demonstrate it. All kinds of enhanced vision," he explained.

"Vibe!"

"I can control auras and manipulate them. Like, right now your aura is red since you're angry because people keeping picking you up in all kinds of creative ways. I don't really want to demonstrate manipulating auras since it can have some…unpleasant side effects that I don't feel like anyone here needs to experience at the moment. Maybe some time in the future." Vibe told him.

"Volt!"

"Electrokinesis. I can't demonstrate it in here. Sorry. Later, once I have more control over it then maybe it would be alright."

"Tech!"

"I can control technology. I don't really feel like demonstrating it."

"Dusk!"

"It's a little bit too bright in here to demonstrate it right now, because I have to have a bit more darkness for my abilities to work. I can control darkness."

"Greycat!"

He took a step forward and rolled back his shoulders before everything about him began to change quickly. His skin darkened until it became a mottled brown color. His arms thickened until they were as wide around as plates. The pupils of his eyes became thinner and more like those of a cat's as the color changed to purple. As he opened his mouth to let out a hiss of pain, his teeth elongated like until they were like shark's teeth. He grew until he stood at around 6'7" with a slightly longer neck. A few students held their noses due to the smell he gave off, which was that of rotting human flesh. Several seconds later, he returned to his human form.

"Force!"

He moved forward, out of the line in a somewhat awkward manner, appearing uncomfortable with everyone's attention now on him. However, he did grin a little bit. Just because he was awkward, didn't mean he couldn't like showing off just a tiny bit. For the cute girls whose eyes were now trained on him. The experience was both unnerving and exciting for him. A faint blue glow appeared around him in the shape of a dome. A force field. It flickered for a few seconds and then disappeared. He returned to the line, disappearing back into the ranks of obscurity.

"Shifter!"

As he stepped forward, he hunched over before dropping to all fours while fur spread across his body. Within seconds, he was no longer even semi-human. He was completely golden retriever. Complete with wagging tail. Several other recruits laughed and there were some sighs of "_awwww_!" Suddenly, he began to change again, this time into a large lion. Now that it was clear he could shapeshift into more than household pets, the general response was a more impressed one. Once he had returned to normal, he took his place in line.

"Psyche!"

"I have psychokinetic powers," he explained, putting a hand to his head. "And my head hurts too much at the moment to use them. Sorry."

"Jaguar!"

As he stepped forward, the muscles beneath his skin rippled and changed while his skin started to darkened. He fell to all fours, while his limbs shifted and his spine elongated as his neck started to shrink slightly. A spasm racked his body as his change into a sleek, black jaguar completed and he climbed off the ground. He did one quick lap around the Danger Room before returning to his human form.

"Optik!"

"I have binocular sight, which I can't really demonstrate at the moment. Also, I have a perfectly photographic memory," he explained while his wider than normal eyes scanned the room, memorizing everyone's face.

"Rockslide!"

"I can't really show it in here. I can control earth."

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**A/N: I know that the this chapter was suck-y and list-y. Next chapter gets better and it'll get better, I swear. Now a huge thanks to San child of the wolves, The RavenFlute, TheWritingGirl23, James95, ChocoMadsAndIrish, Muse of Storytelling, HGM67, Death For One, DoubleCresentMoon, Rex123, Sincerely Anonymous, and Robinrules95.**

**~Cloudy**


	3. Chapter 3: Nightmares

**Next X**

**Chapter Three**

* * *

_~Carmon Ferris~_

Being all the way across the world makes it pretty hard to sleep when in the place you're from its day time and the place you are its night time. At least the bed is comfortable and my roommates are nice. Delilah is rather introverted and she didn't really want to talk to either Theresa or I. Theresa, or Reese as she prefers to be called, is quite ordinary and she's been very nice so far. We listened to music together and talked about our families back home. I did most of the talking since she wanted to hear my accent even more, even though it is pretty much nonexistent. She's very convinced I have one, I don't think so. She says that Australian accents are almost as interesting as British accents, but Australian guys are cuter. That was only after I showed her pictures of my back home. I don't have very many female friends so all the pictures I showed her were of my supposedly cute guy friends back home in Perth.

The sleep aid pills my mother sent with me seem to be kicking in as my eyelids droop and I feel more exhausted than I have in a long time. I squirm to get more comfortable in my bed and readjust the blankets before closing my eyes. I let my eyes close and keep them closed as I feel myself drifting off into dreamland.

_As I walk through an empty warehouse a soft breeze ruffles through my short pixie cut hair while I inspect the place I stand. It's a huge space with no windows and the only excite is a large garage door directly in front of me. The stink of rust fills the air and stings at my nostrils as I continue to move forward towards the door. There's a loud rumble and the painful creak of the ceiling groaning as though it's under some kind of weight. Panic washes through me and as much as I want to speed up my pace, I can't. My body won't let me move any faster_

_ "Help me!" a small voice calls from behind me and I will myself to turn and look back, but again, my body just doesn't obey me and I continue walking forward. There's another groan of the building and then I notice the sound of footsteps behind me. I continue to beg my body to run, to look over my shoulder, to do something other than slowly walk forward at this painstaking pace. _

_ "Please!" the voice begs as I continue to walk away and the building groans again, this time there's the high pitched noise of metal grinding on metal. It feels like everything is moving in slow motion. Still walking forward, a beam crashes down in front of me. Inside, I'm screaming for someone to help, for my body to obey me again, for something to go right in this hell. The shriek of terror that I want to let rip out of my mouth, simply takes stuck where it is in the back of my throat. Like a serpent, it painfully writhes around, ripping at me from the inside. Screaming, crying, running, everything; none of it seems possible. _

_ "Help m—" the tiny cry is cut off by another scream of metal grating on metal before there's a terrible creak. A crash of another beam collapsing is a little bit more muffled, but I can do nothing more than continue walking at a painfully slow pace. Inside, I'm screaming. Outside, I'm like a robot. Mechanically, I walk forward as the building crashes down around me in a storm of metal and a hail of sparks. _

_My head tilts back so that I'm looking up and staring straight at a beam as it swings down at me and finally the screams I've been holding back flood out in a rush. It is mere inches from my head when I make an attempt to move out of its way; throwing myself to the hide. Fiery hot pain shoots through my side and I groan, putting my arms over my face to protect it. Alone, I lay with cold concrete pressed against my back as metal screeches around me. A few sparks from the metal on metal, rain down on me and hiss as they sizzle out on my skin._

_Finally, my arms—which I can no longer control—move away from my face so that I can see the thick metal that is mere inches from my face. My body turns so that I see the metal that traps me only a few centimeters from the tip of my nose. A scream rips from my throat, tearing the last of the air from my lungs. _

"_Carmon!" I look around, but the metal completely traps me and I can't see anyone nearby. Everything starts to shake, moving all the chunks of metal around me and sending them flying every which way. The beam above me tumbles down and I throw my arms up to protect myself. "Carmon!" _

"Carmon?" Reese asks as I jolt up to a sitting position with a start. "What the heck was with all of that screaming? You freaked me and Delilah out. We've been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes and you just haven't been responding. It was like you were dead. What the heck happened?"

"Bad dream…" I mumble, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "I was in this building. There was someone screaming, then the building collapsed and I was trapped under the ruins of it. Then I finally woke up, thanks to you guys."

Delilah has backed up so her back is pressed against the door, the black bun behind her head resting against the peephole. Her gray-blue eyes are wide, looking misty with fearful tears as she looks at her feet. She fiddles with her blue pajama pants striped with one hand, the other covers her mouth. Under the oversized t-shirt, the petite raven haired girl looks drowned. I watch her slip out of the room and hear the footsteps echoing down the empty hall as she races away.

"We should go back to sleep," Reese says, getting up and going back to her bed before she flickers off the lights. "There's training in the morning."

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**A/N: Past tense has become too much of a challenge for me, so I'm switching to present. Characters will narrate some chapters, like Carmon did this one. She's a lot like one of my friends and even from the same place since my friend grew up in Perth, but moved back to the US recently. **

**Sorry about being late! A huge thanks to Munamana, San child of the wolves, DoubleCresentMoon, silverstarsofquebec, TheWritingGirl23, ChocoMadsAndIrish, Mystery Hunter, and Sincerely Anonymous for reviewing. Thanks for taking the time to do that.**

**Now, I was wondering, could any of you lovely readers beta read this story or recommend me to someone? **


	4. Chapter 4: Fun in the Sun

**Next X**

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Sunlight filtered through the sparse clouds that flitted across the sky, occasionally obscuring the sun, but not for longer than a few seconds. The original students from Xavier's were out on the town, but the recruits—who weren't allowed to leave the grounds at the moment—were stuck. Most of them were inside, sulking in their rooms and ignoring their roommates. For the few who'd applied, some degree of homesickness had settled in slightly after being away from home for over four days. With a lack of anything interesting, there had been nothing to distract any of them from missing their families. Those who had been found didn't feel the same pangs, usually since they'd been abandoned.

Cerebro had found the majority of the mutants who had either been thrown out of anti-mutant homes or who had simply runaway. Others had been found after their powers manifested, though this was common with more violent powers. Such as in the case of Zelda Carter, who'd set her first period history class ablaze during a test. While no one was killed and only a few were injured, the suburban Seattle community hadn't reacted very well to a mutant in their midst.

Two of the new recruits sat in their room, gazing into space. Even on the nicest of days, the majority of the recruits didn't leave their rooms for fear of accidentally breaking a rule. Everyone had already met Wolverine and knew that he was in charge of discipline. No one wanted to meet him again, especially with how he treated them in training.

"We really need to do something. This place is t boring between those awful training sessions and everyone here deserves something more fun, right?" Araia, or Rai as she preferred to be addressed, sighed as she sat on her bed. Between her hands small sparks of electricity flickered, looking much like lightning as it arched through the sky. What would have been enough to give any normal human a pretty good jolt, didn't even seem to bother the blonde mutant.

"I know," Mia replied with a sigh, sitting cross-legged on her bed, staring intently at the small, clear glass of water that was balanced in front of her. Her dark blonde hair, which hung straight and was quite limp, fell over her left shoulder in a loose ponytail. Outstretched over the glass was her right arm, elbow slightly bent so her hand hovered over it. Her fingers twitched, straightening out and a few droplets flew up. The drops were suspended in mid-air, where they hung until Mia let them fall by relaxing her fingers.

Rai groaned, dropping her arms at her sides and the lightning vanished, leaving only a few sparks flying from her fingers before sizzling out in mid-air. Her strange silver gaze blankly remained on the ceiling as she lay back so her head rested against the pillows. She twisted onto her side, moving so she could look at Mia, who was still playing with the water. A large, swirling mini cyclone of liquid swirled mere inches above the rim of the glass, Mia's fingers dancing wildly above it.

"Any ideas for what we could do? I'm bored." Rai complained, having already gotten through her introverted phase with Mia, she did not trouble talking to her anymore. Their roommate Naima, however, she still had yet to open up to. Mia had been, for the most part, quiet since she'd first moved into the mansion. Each time Rai talked to her, Mia was polite and responded to her each time; typically, with the shortest phrase that popped into her head.

Mia shrugged slightly, too kind to ignore Rai, but still too quiet to pipe up with suggestions to this girl she hardly knew. Sure, she'd shared a room with Rai for a short while, but that didn't mean much. They rarely sat together at meals—the table was crowded and they took seats where they could—and nobody really seemed to talk during training, except for shouting things to each other. She bit her lip lower lip before replying; "not really."

"It's such a nice day!" Naima proclaimed, throwing her arms wide as she entered the room, slamming the door against the wall as she opened it. Her expression changed to a slightly miffed, who noticing Rai and Mia, were still in their pajamas even though it was about eleven. Her eyebrows at shot up and a disgusted frown appeared on her face as she saw how her roommates were spending the day. Mia and Rai looked away shyly, like children who were being scolded by their mother. "Why are you two sulking here?"

"There's nothing to do." Rai told her plainly, sitting up and hugging her bare legs close to her chest. She was dressed plainly in an off-the-shoulder purple sleep top and a gray pair of underwear. Her hair was pulled back into the same messy bun that she'd slept in, only it had been fixed a little bit after she woke up.

Naima cocked her head, biting her lower lip, she gave the two girls a quick once over, taking into account Mia's dark blue pair of boy shorts and an oversized blue hoodie. Naima's light blue eyes went wide in shock as her eyebrows shot up. She glanced down at her light blue midriff exposing t-shirt and a plain pair of blue jeans, her dark hair was brushed loose and wavy down her back, unlike the two girls who were sporting bedhead. She concluded that she was the only one that looked halfway decent.

"You two are getting dressed and then we're going to plan something awesome so everyone in this boring place can have a little fun. This is supposed to be the dream life for mutants and all it's been so far is training, training, and even more _training_. Let's have a picnic!" Naima declared, walking over to the closet and throwing open the doors with the doors before looking at Mia and Rai's clothes. She riffled through jeans, shirts, and all manner of clothing.

Mia's doe-like dark sea green eyes were filled with fear and apprehension as she watched Naima tear through her clothes, but did nothing to stop her. Like a statue, she merely stared with frozen fear as her jaw dropped in shock. The water had spilled all over the bedspread and the glass lay on its side with only a few drops clinging to the inside of it.

"The two of you," Naima remarked, "have no clothes."

"What are you talking about? I have a ton of clothes! Like that pair of jeans you're holding!" Rai protested weakly, Naima giving the jeans she was holding an 'I'm-going-to-puke' face before casting them aside.

Rai frowned and childishly stuck out her tongue.

"I think you should be able to fit into some of my clothes Rai, but Mia you're tiny so we'll have to make do with what you have until I get a chance to shop with you two." Naima decided, going to her closet and picking out an outfit for Rai.

"There is no way on Earth that I would ever step outside in that outfit," Rai said, laughing a little bit in disbelief as she saw the outfit. In Naima's hands was a pair of short-shorts that looked as though they would hardly cover her rear and a blue-gray v-neck with a neckline that might look fine on Naima, but would dip very low on Rai.

Naima rolled her eyes and went into the closet then returned with some of Rai's clothes in her arms instead of her own clothing. This time it was a pink v-neck top with ¾ sleeves and light blue flare jeans. "Happy now, Rai? This is a much more conservative outfit and it's still cute so you can get a little attention from some of the cuties that go here with us."

Rai rolled out of bed and took the clothes from Naima, walking out of the room, headed in the direction of the bathroom to change. As soon as the door closed behind Rai, Mia closed her eyes, as she remained sitting on her bed. Now she was all alone with Naima, Mia knew that she would be stuck with whatever the Egyptian girl pulled for her. She wasn't ready to see what it was that Naima had picked out for her, so her eyes remained firmly shut. Rai could stand up to the tall, intimidating looking dancer, but Mia knew she couldn't. She'd never stood up to anyone in her life and she wasn't going to start with someone muscular who stands at 5'8". Naima is definitely not a good place to start, Mia told herself as she waited.

"God help me," Mia whispered under her breath, meaning it. With any and all of her worries, she trusted God.

"There you go," Naima said, dropping a pair of dark blue jeans and a emerald green t-shirt with small glittery, golden heart shapes on it. The hearts went from the bottom left corner in a diagonal to the top right, gradually growing bigger as they moved further up.

This, Mia thought, I can live with.

* * *

**Hey guys! You all should come out to the front lawn, there's this awesome picnic planned for all the new recruits. Pass it along, this is going to rock. All the other students will be so jealous – Naima**

Roxanne Lovejoy, or Roxi as she was typically referred to, read the text aloud off Alia's phone to the other two girls in the room. Alia was lounging on her bed, dressed in a plain pair of faded jeans and a white shirt. Erica, who's red lace bandeau showed through her loose fitting white lace top that left her midriff exposed, had been glaring at the Israeli girl's clothes since she'd unpacked. The plain, designer-less wardrobe that hung in Alia's closet was clearly one of the things on Erica's "Top Ten Things To Destroy" list.

"Should we go?" Alia asked, curious about these two odd girls. Her normally sarcastic and brutally honest manner had been somewhat curbed by these two. They were obviously dangerous, but not in a sense that they would hurt her. Roxi and Erica reminded her greatly of the mean girls she'd gone to school with. The ones who'd always thought they were on top of the world, but everyone saw them as skanks. However, no one said a word to them since it was almost universal knowledge they would crush the reputation of anyone who did.

"Depends," Erica mused, furrowing her eyebrows she thought.

"On what?" Alia made the mistake of blurting out, earning her an icy glare from Erica, who gave a little snort of disapproval. The Israeli girl sighed, wondering why on Earth she even started to spend time with these girls. Most of the other inhabitants of the mansion seemed quite nice and a few of them even seemed like the type of people she could be herself with. Erica and Roxi stifled her and she was growing to hate it.

"If the people who go don't look as poor as we all know that they are," Roxi jokes, laughing and Erica joins in. After a couple moments of pause, Alia joins in with them but her laugh is more reserved and reluctant. Unlike the laughter of Roxi and Erica, hers was forced and didn't sound as snobbish as theirs sounds.

* * *

Meiko walked down the hallway, her feet a few inches above the ground as she continued down the hallway with a copy of "Divergent" by Veronica Roth hugged tightly to her chest. Midnight colored hair fluttered behind her, waving like a flag in the breeze from the open window at the end of the hallway. Her emerald eyes remained fixed on ground as she hovered down the hallway, not looking at all where she was going.

"Hey," James Mercer said as he walked up to her and stopped in front of her. Her eyes went wide as she looked up at him and walked through him. A harsh chill passed through James, making him shudder as though he'd just been thrown out into the snow.

"Sorry." Meiko apologized in a quiet voice as she sheepishly dropped her gaze to the ground and moved to walk past James when he stepped in front of her.

James bent over to pick up the book that Meiko had dropped before he passed it back to her, intentionally brushing his fingers over hers. He gave her a faint smile that turned up the corner of his lips and spread to his unusual purple eyes. She grabbed the book and pulled it back with a sharp jerk as soon as he touched her. Breathing somewhat faster than usual, Meiko backed away from him as though he'd burned her. A crimson flush spreads across her peachy colored cheeks, mirroring the one that had turned his lightly tanned cheeks.

"Are you going to the picnic that Naima has planned?" James asked nervously, barely keeping the anxious stutter out of his voice.

"I was thinking about it," Meiko told him shyly as she looked pointedly at her feet to avoid looking him in the eyes. "What about you?"

"Same, I'm not sure." James replied. "Maybe we could walk together, we are in the first floor hallway and it's a pretty short walk out to the front lawn. Who knows, it might be a little fun and at least there will be food so it's worth our while because of that."

The two walked, in awkward silence, the rest of the way to picnic outside where most of the members of Next X had gathered. Already, things seemed to be getting out of hand it had only begun fifteen minutes ago—or at least the text said it was supposed to start fifteen minutes ago. Rai was arm wrestling with Hunter Harrison, an eighteen year old boy from Texas. Jesse Taylor was attempting to flirt with Erica, who continued to shoot him down with increasing rudeness. Grayson Webber was demonstrating her minimal atmospheric manipulation as she created a fog over Vio Valid, Victor Stryke, and Vienna Eona. Michael Wilks was showing off to Mia and Carmon by levitating a few small stones and making them fly around him in wild patterns. Both the hydrokinetic and the metal girl seemed delighted to watch this until he accidentally hit himself in the head with a rock, making both girls laugh. Wincing, he laughed with them. Delilah Wilson and Katherine Proctor sat a little ways off from the thick of the games and playfulness, preferring to stay out of it. Tatiana and Noah McCarthy were watching Avery Ratchet try to beat Dorrian Kirkland in a race. Because of his feline mutation—the stench of which kept everyone at least twenty feet away from him—he won every time.

"This is okay…" Roxi said to Erica, who had ignored Jesse until he left her alone. Every couple of minutes or so she would look over her shoulder, looking to where Jesse was now attempting to get Henry Kirkpatrick to join the rest of them.

"Yeah," Erica agreed, stealing a quick glance at Jesse.

"Who are you looking at?" Roxi asked inquisitively, but making it joking by waggling her eyebrows in a suggestive fashion. Erica giggled daintily and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear to cover a slight flush on her cheeks.

"Just Hunter." Erica lied. "He's a real cutie…even with his shirt on. Judging from those biceps he probably looks a lot better with it off."

Roxi laughed.

"But he's not really my type," Erica added quickly. A little too quickly. "That Texan accent is kind of a turn off." Roxi and Erica snickered in delight, glancing back at Hunter.

"Let's play blob!" Someone, the voice sounded masculine, shouted at the top of their lungs. The reaction was immediate and like the way that elementary school students would react if they heard the same thing. Everyone scattered. Only Delilah and Kat didn't react fast enough, making them the dreaded Blob. Katherine or Delilah didn't move an inch and just watched the rest of the mutants scattering, seeming disinterested in the game. They got up and started to walk towards the X-Mansion but after a few rude calls of "get moving!" or "hurry up you two!" or "come one, we're all just trying to have fun!" The two shy girls groaned, linked arms and charged after the other mutants. Shrieks, hoots, and screams fill the air as the large group of mutants goes in every direction. The majority of them run off toward the gate and the two girls run after them, tagging Damein Dumaye in the process. Kat's slight precognition worked to their advantage as she saw where people were going to go next.

About twenty minutes later, over half the mutants had been tagged to become part of the blob leaving on six out and running for their lives. Dorrian's deathly awful smell had made him the designated last target for all of them and the blob did their best to stay as far away from him as possible. Hunter had managed to get away from the blob and hide out by the pool. Alia sat perched in a tree in a very cat-like fashion as she breathed heavily, watching the blob chase down another victim. That victim was Morden Leston, who was too frazzled to throw up a force field. Reese had hidden behind a bush—more accurately, she tripped into—and lay hidden with a twisted ankle.

"Hey." Said a voice as Michael's brunet head pokes over the bush. Eyes going wide, Reese pulled him into the bush to hide with her.

"What are you doing?" She hissed as he fell beside her, leaving the two of them squished together in the small space between the bushes and the wall of the Institute.

"What can I say, I'm a sucker for a damsel in distress," Michael told her with a flirty grin that only earned him a glare.

Reese slaps a hand over his mouth as the blob walked by and she removed it when she thought that they'd passed by. Her dark eyes held a little bit of fear in them as she gripped a branch of the bush and glanced out. Just then, a hand shot out and tagged her then Michael.

"Now let's get Dorrian!" A voice cried.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long, I had to rewrite it but I think that was best. A huge thanks to my amazing beta reader Sincerely Anonymous! I don't think I'll have the next chapter in on time, but I can aim for next Monday since I'm out of town on Sunday (at least I think I am). My summer gets very busy soon and Fanfiction has to take a back seat to school as soon as August 22nd rolls around. All of August, it's very unlikely I will update since I'll be out of town until two days before I start school. Updates will be slow as soon as my books get in, blame my AP and Honors classes for giving me too much work. **

**A huge thanks to everyone who reviewed: Sincerely Anonymous, Death For One, ChocoMadsAndIrish, Muse of Storytelling, silverstarsofquebec, TheWritingGirl23, DoubleCresentMoon, and San child of the wolves. **

**~Cloudy**


	5. Chapter 5: Power Testing

**Next X**

**Chapter Five**

* * *

"This is so uncomfortable," Reese complained, pulling on the quite tight fitting black training uniform over her underclothes. Even though each uniform had been specifically tailored to the measurements of each recruit, there were many complaints that they were too tight from all over the girl's locker room. Carmon had braid Reese's frizzy, auburn hair earlier after they were awoken by the dreaded five thirty alarm. Now, at six o'clock in the morning, all of the recruits were getting dressed in the locker rooms and trying to get out to the Danger Room before class that day. Every day there was three training sessions for the recruits—morning, afternoon, and evening. They trained for an hour in the morning, afternoon, and in the evening, after dinner. Every night, after dinner, they trained from seven to eight. Thankfully, there were no sessions on Sunday and there was only an afternoon session on Saturdays. Storm had promised them this pace would let up as soon as Xavier was sure everything was going well enough.

"I know right," Carmon whined, zipping up the front of her uniform up to a bit passed her collarbone. She flopped down on the bench before yanking on the pair of black boots that had been provided for her. On the bench in front of the metal lockers, lay the matching black gloves that had also been provided for her. This was the first day that the uniforms had been available to all them after the measurements had been taken on the first day.

"Hey," Grayson said, tapping Carmon on her metallic shoulder to get her attention before she pointed over to where Roxi, Erica, and Alia—the Witches of Bayville, as they were dubbed by a few girls—were changing. Or, more accurately, Roxi and Erica were attempting to convince Alia that letting a good amount of cleavage show would make her look better in her uniform.

Reese snorted and finished zipping up her uniform, pointedly zipping it up to her neck so it wouldn't show anything that, in her opinion, shouldn't hang out all of the time.

Carmon shook her head as Alia was finally bullied into wearing her clothes the way Roxi and Erica wanted her to. The two "witches" left the room quickly, Alia trailing after the other two of them as they went into the bathroom to fix their hair in the mirrors. Grayson snorted, pulling her thick dark hair back into a sloppy ponytail.

"I don't get it," Grayson mused. "Why does Alia hang out with those two? I've talked to her before and she seems like a nice girl, a little bit fiery, but still nice. She should stick up to them but she doesn't and I don't see why not. There's _every_ reason in the world to do that, yet she acts like their little lapdog. It's kind of frustrating to see, right?"

"Yeah," Reese sighed as she finished dressing and sat down on the bench to wait for Carmon.

Once they were ready, the three girls walked out of the locker room with a few others who finished about the same time as them. Naima was chatting with Rai and Mia, rather loudly about how badly she needed to take them shopping. Kat and Delilah walked in silence together as they exited the room, contempt not to say anything. There was an uncomfortable aura floating around those two. Though no one in the mansion really understood why they were friends (even though they never spoke to each other), they assumed the two had bonded over the fact they both had mentally based abilities. Meiko trailed behind the others was the last out of the dressing room, keeping her gaze to the floor as a quiet smile stretched her lips out ever so slightly.

The girls entered the Danger Room, greeted by the sound of Wolverine shouting at some of the students who'd already formed a line. Ignoring the instructions to be quiet, a few of them continued to talk, only know in hushed whispers, as they joined the lines. Once the rest of the students, mostly boys who'd taken a while in the locker room or slept in, arrived his yelling switched to the importance of punctuality.

"Now, all of you please line up by number—boys in one line and girls in the other. If you talk, then you'll run. Three laps; run, not walk. Walking will not fly and if you don't go fast enough, then you'll run again. It's better for everyone just to avoid that." Wolverine explained to them as they all scramble in a mad dash to line up before they had to run. Everyone's mouth was like it had been glued shut as the Danger Room remained silent, aside from the sound of shuffling boots.

Once they were all in line, Wolverine spoke again: "Each of you will face a different obstacle. Keep in mind, as always, you're being graded on creativity and success. Not beating you obstacle doesn't necessarily mean failure, but you won't be getting an A. Now that you all get it, we will go in order alternating between boys and girls. Ladies first."

Grayson, codenamed Nimbus, swallowed a little bit nervously and cracked her knuckles as the Danger Room began to move in front of their eyes, changing into an obstacle specifically designed for her. As a miniature Sentinel about 8 feet tall, Nimbus inhaled sharply and bent her knees a little bit like she was getting ready to jump. For a few seconds, the humanoid machine swung around before it locked on its target. Nimbus. The other students had backed away as soon as they saw Nimbus' obstacle. A few of them, who'd encountered Sentinels in the past, were quietly relieved they weren't facing a Sentinel.

The Sentinel started towards Nimbus, moving at remarkable for a large piece of metal, but Nimbus slowly backed away towards the wall. She made no move to get out of the path of the robot until her back was nearly against the wall before she crouched and leapt into the air. Nimbus had flown nearly to the ceiling, when the Sentinel crashed into the wall below her. A shower of debris was scattered in every direction, even though the Sentinel wasn't destroyed. Including, up. Despite the fact that Nimbus was a somewhat fast flyer, she hadn't yet been using her powers long enough to develop the kind of speed to get away from rapidly moving shards of metal. A wickedly sharp piece of the Sentinel 's armor caught her in the lower thigh, causing a low cry of pain to bubble up out of her throat.

Shockingly, it was none other than Force—typically known as Morden the nerd—who came to her rescue as soon as Nimbus started to lose her grip on her powers, dropping slowly at first and then like a rock. One arm stretched towards Nimbus, while his other hand was pointed at the Sentinel, sealing it inside a force field. Nimbus landed safely, even if she would be a little sore from the impact the next morning, on a faintly blue tinged force field that was out stretched like a net beneath her. Slowly, she let out a winded gasp; the air had been driven from her lungs by a rough landing. However, it was a better landing than falling all the way to the cold metal floor.

A panel in the wall slid back, revealing two larger Sentinels, both two feet taller than the first one. Marching in soldier-like unison, they filed out; eyes locked onto the two young mutants who were out in the open, making them likely targets. Nimbus and Force had their backs directed towards the two threats that were trooping towards them. Currently, out of commission of the moment, Nimbus clearly wouldn't be of much use against them and Force was too distracted with her and the smaller Sentinel.

"What are you waiting for?" Logan demanded of the other students. "Olympians, get moving. Follow Force's lead, help your team mate. This is a team challenge after all!"

"I thought this was a power control test." Erica muttered to herself as she flicked her hair over her shoulder and strutted out of the line, flaunting it even though no one was looking at her. . All eyes were on Force, the Sentinels, and Nimbus. Lying on a wavering shield, Nimbus groaned softly, trying to regain her powers so Force could focus on stopping the Sentinel. She gasped, seeing to the two bigger Sentinels approach and her supposed team standing there, petrified.

Valkyrie saw the fear in Grayson's eyes. She was frozen in place not doing anything. It took a few moments for Logan's words to actually sink in: _she had to help her teammates_. She swelled up all the courage she had before Valkyrie launched herself forward, signaling for her team to follow. Rockslide pulled away from the wall as well, chasing after her quickly and making good time in how swiftly he caught up. The remainder of the team had a very slow reaction, until Logan yelled at them to get moving or they would fail this test. That scared enough of them into dazedly going after Valkyrie, however shell-shocked they seemed.

"Blindspot, Stretch, and Oracle I want you three to help Nimbus!" Valkyrie yelled to them and the three nodded before going to do to the job that they were assigned. "Now, Rockslide I want you to help Force deal with that Sentinel! Zephyr, Greycat, and Falcon you're with me to disable the new ones so let's do this and kick some metal butt!"

The shield holding Nimbus five feet of the ground flickered dangerously as Force put the majority of his focus into keeping the disabled Sentinel from breaking free of his shield. Stretch's arms shot forward, stretching out like a rubber band, coiled around Nimbus as the force field finally vanished. Force game him a quick nod of acknowledgement and thanks, then turned all his focus on crushing the handicapped Sentinel by shrinking the circular force field. Blindspot and Oracle moved away from Stretch and ran towards the two Sentinels, seeing that Stretch had the Nimbus situation under control.

"Hey, I think I might have an idea," Rockslide whispered, dropping his voice as he spoke to Force. "Metal comes from the earth right, well, maybe I have a little bit of control over it. Not as much as Magneto, but possibly enough to get this one out of commission."

Force paused for a few minutes to think it over, beads of sweat rolling down his cheeks from the effort of containing the still moving Sentinel. "Yeah, go for it, man. It's not like it will hurt anyone if you try it. Best to know what you can do."

Nervously, Rockslide held out a hand and, slowly, clenched his now trembling hand into a fist as the sickening groan of metal filled the room. On the sidelines, Metallic shuddered. The Sentinel didn't completely collapse in on itself, but it did seem as though the internal mechanics that drove it had been crushed. The blue tinted force field flickered out of existence, leaving a broken looking Sentinel collapsed against the wall.

The team was attempting to defeat the two larger Sentinels that loomed over them. Valkyrie, who was smacked by a Sentinel, went flying across the room, slumping unconscious on the floor. Everyone stared at each other for a split second, thinking they were SOL because she was their biggest asset in this session due to her lighting blasts and leadership qualities. Falcon distracted by Valkyrie's unfortunate 'flight' was thrown against the wall after struggling to weaken the Sentinel. Blindspot, whose powers were all but useless against the Sentinels, was running to avoid the same fate as Valkyrie and Falcon. Zephyr was on the sidelines too busy trying to fix her hair, which had been messed up by a blast of wind she'd misdirected, to get rid of the Sentinels. She was also covering her nose and avoiding the Greycat snarled at the weaker of the two Sentinels—the one that Valkyrie had hit taken an arm off of—and launched himself at it. Shark-like teeth bared, he racked his claws against the metal, barely doing any damage.

"Zephyr! I need some help!" Greycat half-growled, half-yelled at her. She turned to look at him, the surprise in her chocolate colored eyes apparent and she cocked her left eyebrow in him in a look that said "_seriously?_" Greycat yowled as he was thrown off the back of the Sentinel and into a wall, the sickening sound of metal on bone resounded throughout the room. Zephyr winced and looked away from his unconscious body to her pale pink painted nails.

On the sidelines, Wolverine shook his head in disgust. _These new recruits were a real piece of work._

"Guys, come here, I have a plan!" Force called to them a little weakly, still tired from using his force fields so long. Next time was Rockslide, who appeared equally exhausted from the effort of destroying the internal workings of the Sentinel. Knowing he would have to do it again—and again—wasn't something he was looking forward to. Oracle was watching the two Sentinels intently, trying to glean a little bit of what they'd do next without much luck. Machines were harder to see into the future of than humans, especially when their fate in the next few minutes didn't involve her. Flashes of images popped into her head—bursts of light, shimmering force fields, the sound of grating metal. Stretch had set Nimbus down and stood guard over her, even if he didn't look strong enough to guard anything. Blindspot was still avoiding the Sentinels to the best of her ability, but it was plain to see that she was tiring quickly. Zephyr stood off to the side, allowing Blindspot to distract the robots as she self-groomed—finger combing her hair, inspecting her nails, and looking at her reflection in the semi-reflective metal that made up the walls of the Danger Room.

Blindspot limped over to Force, since her she'd twisted her ankle dodging a blow from one of the Sentinels. Slowly, the rest moved closer to him as well and the Sentinels advanced as well. Zephyr was the last to join the group, taking her sweet time about it, much to the annoyance of everyone else.

"For this to work, we all need to be a team and act like it"—he looked pointedly at Zephyr—"so here's what everyone has to do. Blindspot and Oracle, I want you two to distract the Sentinels for just a little bit. Run around in circles, do crazy stuff. Wing it, mostly and be as unpredictable as you possibly can. And Oracle, holler if you get a vision of them doing something to hurt any of us then we can avoid it. Once they're distracted, Zephyr, I want you to throw the biggest, baddest cyclone that you can make at them." Force began until he was interrupted by non-other than Zephyr.

"I don't like making cyclones, they mess up my hair like crazy and I don't want that to happen," Zephyr protested.

Force sighed and chose to ignore her before he spoke again. "Then Rockslide will finish off one of them and I'll take care of the other one. In the meantime, I want you Stretch to get Valkyrie, Greycat, and Falcon then bring them over to where Nimbus. Then you can make sure no one hurts any of them. Got it?"

They all nodded, even Zephyr after everyone looked over at her.

Blindspot, who had found her second wind, and Oracle took off, running circles around the oncoming Sentinels. Immediately, the robots began turning wildly in an attempt to catch the two girls as the remainder of the team watched. Zephyr stood a little ways away, feet planted shoulder width apart as she cracked her knuckles. Force and Rockslide lingered a few feet behind Zephyr, watching the Sentinels and waiting for her to make her move.

Zephyr's hands began to move, fingers dancing, as all of the air and the room felt as though it was starting to move. In front of her, the air began to visibly spin, sucking up all the dust and loose items from around it. Once it reach ten feet tall, it finished growing and simply spun like an insane top in-front of Zephyr.

"Oracle, Blindspot, out of the way!" Force yelled. The two girls scattered, throwing themselves in the direction of the wall and dropping to their knees. "Zephyr, now!"

Doing as she was told for once in her life, Zephyr threw her arms forward and the miniature cyclone flew forward at the two Sentinels, driving them into the wall. Looking tired, she stepped out of the way to allow Force and Rockslide to finish the Sentinels. Doing what they'd done before, Force crushed one with a force field while Rockslide put his remaining energy into destroying the other.

Looking exhausted, the remainder of the awake group members gathered around those who had been rendered unconscious. A few of the other recruits gave them pitiful looks as they backed away a little bit, seeming scared for when it was finally their turn. Zephyr fixed her hair. Rockslide and Force slumped into sitting positions, leaning against the wall as they sat side-by-side. Blindspot and Oracle weakly high-fived each other.

"That was a good first try at the test. All of you can hit the showers and take anyone injured to the infirmary." Wolverine told them. Zephyr strutted out of the room without even offering to take someone who was out cold. Rockslide picked up Valkyrie, carrying her out of the Danger Room, then to the infirmary to get patched up. Stretch, with a good deal of effort, took Nimbus up to the infirmary so her cut could be checked out. Half-dragging, half-carrying Greycat out of the room, Blindspot held her breath to keep from smelling him and hurling. Oracle, with Force's help, took Falcon out of the room. The other recruits stared grimly at the bodies being dragged out of the Danger Room which had instilled even more fear in them than before.

* * *

The scene in the Danger Room shifted, the metal melting away and the light blurring dizzyingly until it was replaced with a forest. Large pines soared above them, filling the air with their rich fragrance. Shrubbery littered the forest floor with sparsely placed patches of grass or moss-coated rocks. Flurries of bird song rang out every few moments, accompanied by the other sounds of the forest; the rustle of leaves, random animal noises, and snapping twigs. In the middle of the clearing, the Centurions stood, looking around in confusion and some with fear. Unconsciously, they'd all moved closer together—for protection and comfort closeness to their companions.

"As team leader," Dusk started out, moving away from the group with a few strides forward. "I say we find out what our obstacle is by breaking up into teams and scooting around."

"But isn't the point of this exercise to work together as a team?" Mundane piped up, crossing her arms over her chest and raising a questioning eyebrow at Dusk. A few of her teammates nodded their agreement to what Mundane had said. Nightmare seemed to be most steadfastly against splitting up, continuously shaking her head back and forth. Fear was plainly written across her face and she'd taken a few steps back, away from the group.

Dusk sighed. "Okay, fine. We won't split up but then this will take a lot longer this way and the Olympians will use up all the hot water so we'll have to take cold showers—"

"Let's just get going," Mundane sighed as she started to walk towards two smaller pine trees. "Don't stand too close, everybody; I want you all to be able to kick the butt of whatever Wolverine sends after us."

Careful to stay at least five feet away, the remainder of the Centurions trailed behind Mundane, much to the displeasure of Dusk, the actual group leader. He shook it off after a moment and let the very average girl continue to lead the team. So far, she was doing a far better job of it than he had to begin with. _After this Wolverine will probably make her team leader_, Dusk thought a little bit sadly, but reminded himself, _only if it goes well._

They walked for what felt like fifteen minutes before sitting down beside a babbling brook and a few splashed into the water to cool down. The sun, which had been decided by Dusk was not an accurate measure of time, had risen high into the sky and the temperature had skyrocketed with it. What had started out as a pleasant day in the woods was beginning to feel like a hot day at the beach, minus the sand and surf. Several recruits had peeled off their gloves and cast them aside along with rolling up their pants.

_Snap!_

"What was that?" Shriek asked, turning her head to look behind her into the forest, which had been cast into shade by the shadows of the trees. In the darkness, it appeared as though shapes were moving, watching them just out of their sight. Staggering to her feet, she stumbled forward over the smooth, wet rocks that lined the brook. Oceana was playfully twirling water around her, laughing as it feel in small drops like rain down on her and her teammates. Mundane was sitting on a large flat rock, away from the rest of her team as she soaked her feet in the water. Next to her on the rock, her boots and socks were laid out in the sun to dry. Copycat laughed as she ran through the water, having shape shifted into clothes that were far better suited for this weather—a green bikini. Her hair had been freed from its ponytail and let loose to flow in the breeze.

"What was what, Shriek?" Flashstep asked, looking up at her as he straightens up where he stands in the river.

"There was a noise," Shriek insisted, wading into the water and ignoring the fact she was getting wet. "In the woods. I think something or someone is watching us."

"Dusk!" Flashstep yelled, catching the attention of the rest of the group. Nightmare hugged herself tightly and pulled her knees closer up towards her chest, taking deep breaths to keep from freaking out. She knew exactly what happened when she freaked out and now was not the time for that to happen. "There's something in the woods!"

A blur of gray fur threw itself out from its hiding place in the shadows of the forest, a predatory snarl ripping from its throat as it went. Sounding out louder than the snarl was the sound of grating metal. Shriek let out a blood curdling scream so strong that it reverberated throughout the mansion, making the inhabitants cringe at the sound. A few windows shattered, raining shards of glass down on the lawn outside. Lights flickered and numerous electronic devices short circuited, much to the outrage of those who were using them. Among the devices that went out, the electronic wolf collapsed a few inches away from Shriek, sending up a spray of water every which way. Mundane let out a little squeak as she was splashed with a wave of water created by the wolf hitting the brook.

"Get out of the water!" Nightmare shouted, realizing a piece of sparking machinery was more likely to electrocute the rest of her team than do them any good. Shifter had grown a large pair of wings and lifted Oceana out of the water, setting her down on a large rock. Mundane clambered away from the bank and shook her head in disgust as the water sparked. Copycat was already out of the water, hugging Dusk half out of fear and half so she could find how his biceps felt. Shriek had stumbled out of the water, being dragged by Psyche's telekinetic powers. Flashstep was back in the forest, having used his abilities to turn into living light so he could get away fast enough. He'd pulled Tech, who now lay on the bank, out.

"That was freaky…" Copycat laughed nervously as she reluctantly pulled away from Dusk and gave him a quick once over, checking him out.

"Well, if you think that was freaky then look behind you." Mundane said dully as she gazed past Copycat and at the five bionic wolves behind her, eyes glowing in an ominous red. A low, recorded growl came out, but none of the wolves had so much as opened their mouths. Copycat screamed, a sound that was not nearly as terrifying as Shriek's. Psyche clamped a hand over Shriek's mouth, keeping her from making that awful sound again even if it did break one of the wolves.

Oceana stepped out in front of the group, earning a great deal of surprised looks as she baited the wolves. "Hey, come here you dumb bucket-heads!" her voice quivered with uncertainty, but it seemed to work. One howled loudly and threw itself at her, only to be met with a large, sparking wave that slammed it into a tree. With a loud groan, the tree tumbled backwards, crushing two more of the wolves as it hit the ground.

Both of the remaining wolves charged forward just as Psyche removed his hand from Shriek's mouth and let her scream. Another blood chilling scream filled the air and everyone, especially Psyche, put their hands over their ears. The remaining windows that hadn't broken now fell into pieces, luckily not harming anyone. All of the lights went out again, before turning back on.

The world around them melted away and seemed to tilt in a somewhat sickening way until they were all standing in the Danger Room again. After Wolverine dismissed them, they all hit the showers in a lot better shape than the Olympians had left, but found that most of the hot water had been used up. Zephyr, to be spiteful, had left a few showers running until the hot water was gone so no one else would get any. Flunking out of Xavier's wasn't something she wanted to happen and this was her small vengeance on anyone who did better than her. Considering how her team did, she was sure they'd done the worst out of all three teams of ten. Malice danced in her eyes like fire as she resisted the urge to throw a punch, but she reminded herself that would be far too callous.

* * *

"Run!" Metallic yelled as one of the walls started to move, picking up speed as it barreled right for the Spartans. In his feral form, Jaguar snarled as he knocked Portal down to get the twelve-year-old out of the way fast enough. Her short legs hadn't been moving her quickly enough to get her out of the way. She let out a little yelp, having been slightly crushed by two hundred and twenty pound spotted feline. With a swiftness and grace only possessed by large cats, Jaguar daintily removed himself from Portal and trotted off, looking slightly disgruntled. He sat down and smoothed down a few stray pieces of fur with his tongue.

Vibe shook his head and, under his breath, muttered: "Cats; they're so strange."

"Jaguar's bizarre grooming habits seem to be the least of our problems," Spark sighed as the Danger Room began to change before their very eyes. "Looks like the wall thing was just one of Wolverine's oh-so-lovely little reminders that we have to be ready and all times and stay sharp. Let's do just that."

Everyone nodded their agreement, some more shakily than others as they glanced around the new landscape in a paranoid fashion. Where the Centurions had faced down a forest with wolves, the Spartans were in the middle of a vast expanse of flatland that seemed to go on forever. Optik turned in circles, trying to see if his binocular eyes could help him see to somewhere that wasn't just plains. Nothing, for miles and miles, the prairie went on so far that it did not look anything else existed for miles.

Spirit's form wavered, disappearing completely for several seconds and she looked over her shoulder. Realizing her nerves had gotten the best of her, she appeared and took a few deep breaths in a weak attempt to relax herself. Remedy sat down in the tall prairie grass, wildflowers swaying in the warm breeze that brushed past her, lifting her hair slightly off her shoulders. Heat shimmered in the distance and the sun beat down. Without any clouds to obscure it, the sun's rays came down full force on the group of ten teens, making them sweat within minutes. There was a breeze blowing, it did nothing to cool them. The wind was warm, almost hot even.

"At least we should be able to see something when it comes for us. There's nothing for miles so we should have that as some kind of advantage as that, right?" Spark said as the loud cry of a bird sounded from above them. The beating of wings filled the air, tearing apart the mostly still air. Forgetting completely about being a team, the Spartans scattered like frightened mice as the enormous hawk descended on them. Easily the size of the average Smart Car, it plummeted earth wards, wings folded against its sides as it dove at terrifying speed. Portal scampered off, Jaguar by her side acting almost like a bodyguard for her. Metallic raised a hand to cover her face as she took a step back, her other arm going out to protect Remedy, who had quickly jumped to her feet. A tongue of flame shot skyward, Spark's outstretched hands sparked and her feet were firmly planted against the ground.

"Holy cow!" Spark snapped, eyes wide in shock both over the fact that a bird the size of a car was after them and that her powers had activated without her intending for them to. The flames sputtered and died as the bird started spiraling downwards, falling directly towards the group of scattered mutants. Spark barely managed to get out of the way in time as it struck the ground, sending a spray of dirt around it. While most of them were covered in dirt and bits of grass, they were all alive and well. "What the hell was that!"

"I have no idea!" Metallic gasped, nervously walking towards the bird, her eyes reflecting suspicion as she got closer.

"That was so easy…" Spirit muttered under her breath as the scene melted away into nothing more than the Danger Room. They all filed out and went to take cold showers since all of the hot water was gone. Spirit still couldn't help but think _Next time, it's the Olympians who get it easy and we're going to have the hardest test._

* * *

**A/N: Well, this will probably be the last chapter for a while. I leave for Alaska, where I won't have a computer for a week and I have to do a lot of work before school. I'm terribly sorry, but I would like to thank Mystery Hunter, TheRavenFlute, DoubleCresentMoon, Chocomadds-and-Irish, James95, TheWritingGirl23, San child of the wolves, Sithlord8665, and Sincerely Anonymous for reviewing. I hope all of you will stick around and wait the while for the next chapter. A huge thanks to my beta Sincerely Anonymous. **


	6. Chapter 6: Movie Night Disaster

**Next X**

**Chapter Six**

* * *

"Mean Girls or Child's Play?" Zelda asked as she walked into the recruits only recreation room, holding both movies above her head like they were trophies. Whispers erupted throughout the crowd of recruits as everyone turned to their friends and began to debate. By far, the loudest in the room were Mia, Naima, Carmon, and Reese who had squished themselves onto the sofa. They were half sitting on the couch and half-sitting on each other as they chatted. Kat and Delilah were pretty quiet as they talked in near silence. "That's all I've got so don't go asking if there are some other options. And if we watch Child's Play then Mason, Vienna, Tatiana, and Noah will have to leave since they're too young to watch it. Maybe even some of the younger fifteen year olds might have to leave since I don't want any of them running into my room in the middle of the night when they think Chucky is after them."

Tatiana face fell as she heard her name on Zelda's list of too young to watch, but neither Vi nor Noah really protested much as they silently sulked.

"Oh, Kat, you too," Zelda said, realizing she'd forgotten one of the fourteen-year-olds. "You shouldn't be watching scary movies t your age. Especially one's were the doll is super creepy and gave me nightmares."

"We vote for Mean Girls," Mia piped up from the couch as she gestured to the grinning girls beside her.

"So do we," Delilah told Zelda, nodding to Kat so she was included in the votes. Kat nodded, not wanting to be excluded from movie night just for being too young. Nods spread throughout the cloud like wild fire as everyone's votes seemed to go for Mean Girls. Even the boys in the group of mostly girls cast their votes for viewing Mean Girls. Only a few of the older recruits chose to watch Child's Play, but were outvoted by a landslide. Mean Girls won out within a matter of seconds.

Everything started off well, the movie began and everyone comfortable settled into their various seats; crammed on sofas, stuffed in chairs, and even sprawling out on the floor. A bean bag chair had been dragged down from one of the rooms and now at least four recruits were attempting to sit on it, winding up slightly resembling sardines. Vienna, Tatiana, and Kat all lying beside each other, wrapped like burritos in blankets. Meiko's head was sticking through Vienna's middle, a fact the portal creating mutant had yet to realize as she drifted off.

Rai and Hunter were laughing as they watched Vienna fall asleep and quietly placed bets on whether Vienna would realize before Meiko moved or not. Every time Hunter would start to laugh louder, in an attempt to wake up Vienna since he was betting she would realize, Rai would clamp a hand over his mouth.

"You licked my hand!" Rai squealed in shock, falling out of her chair as she cried out in disgust and landing hard on her rear. Vienna's eyes flew open and for the first time she noticed that someone's head had gone through her. She squealed in fright, throwing herself forward as Meiko pulled back and fell through the sofa. Laughter and screams spread through the room as the majority of recruits broke into laughter, but several of the ones closer to the ghost girl screamed. Having someone fall through them was definitely a valid cause for screaming. Mia and Reese were pretty much half way across the room, when Meiko started to fall through the sofa. Reese to keep the ghost girl from getting stuck in the couch and Mia, screaming and laughing.

"Chill out." Zelda snapped at the rest of the group as the laughter died down to giggles and everyone managed to collect themselves and resettled themselves in their various seats. She gave everyone in the room a disgusted glare that mirrored the look Regina George gave on the screen as she said: "That is the ugliest effing skirt I've ever seen."

Mia was unable to stop the giggles as she said; "that's actually a cute skirt, I would wear it."

"It's a terrible skirt," Rai argued as she tossed Mia a look that said '_I-can't-believe-you-like-that-damn-skirt.' _The two locked eyes for a moment, glaring in a silent argument that quickly dissolved into laughter.

"Can we please just, like, watch the movie?" Kat asked, her voice almost too quiet to be heard over the sound of Rai and Mia. Luckily for her, everyone did settle down for the rest of the movie, watching as the events played out. There were occasional bouts of laughter, usually just because the movie was amusing. Sometimes, they were caused by someone making commentary or tickling another person—Hunter and Rai.

By the time the credits rolled, Carmon was asleep with her head on Mia's shoulder and the hydrokinetic looked a bit uncomfortable under the weight of the metal girl. She had been fidgeting for the last ten minutes, but as soon as Delilah flickered on the lights she slid away from the Australian, who slid of the couch. Carmon, who remained asleep, didn't seem bothered by this and simply curled up into a new position on the floor. Meiko, feeling sorry for her, dropped a blanket over her in case she got cold as the rest of the mutants trickled out of the room and towards the kitchen.

The choice to go for snacks and soda had not been something they'd debated, it merely kind of happened. Zelda, not having many friends in the crowd to keep her there, got up as soon as the credits began and started for the kitchen. Driven by hunger or thirst, group by group, everyone started to leave until only Carmon was left sleeping.

Knowing most of the students lacked any cooking skills—especially Kitty—several snacks had been set out by the teachers to avoid the kitchen being torn apart by hungry teenagers. Large bowls containing potato chips, pretzels, Cheetos, and all manner of snacks were arranged along the countertop. All the Hawaiian punch in the refrigerator had been poured into a punch bowl and the cans were mostly in the recycling, although a few lay crushed on the floor.

"This is awesome," Reese said as she grabbed a handful of sour cream and onion potato chips.

"Definitely," Hunter agreed, searching the cabinets for cups. Within a matter of seconds he'd found them and poured a glass of punch for him and one for Rai.

Rai took a sip and made a face, but swallowed it anyway. Part of her was convinced that something was wrong with the punch, but as she looked around no one else seemed had noticed. Considering she'd never had the stuff before, she assumed it normally tasted like this and knocked it back like a shot, not wanting to offend Hunter by not drinking it.

* * *

_Twenty Minutes Early _

Per usual, Alia, Roxi, and Erica had locked themselves away in their room ignoring the invitation from the other recruits to join movie night. Since most of the recruits were too frightened to talk to them, a note had been slipped under their door. The small piece of neon pink paper had been tacked up against the door by Alia so the other two could see it. In neat cursive lettering had been written:

_Alia, Roxanne, and Erica,_

_I know that you guys normally don't really like to spend a lot of time with the rest of us but we all wanted to invite you to a movie night. We're either going to be watching _Child's Play_ or _Mean Girls_. It's going to be a lot of fun and I hope that the three of you will consider joining us. There's going to be snacks (Cheetos, pretzels, chips, etc.) and drinks (fruit punch!). It will be great so we hope that you'll consider coming down and spending time with us. We're going to be in the recruits rec room so come by whenever you feel like it._

_-The Rest of Next X_

Erica had scoffed when she first saw the note and went back to texting her friends from back in Cherry Hills. Roxi complained to Alia for a while about how nobody ever remembered that she didn't like to be called Roxanne and she would much rather be called Roxi. All the while, Alia listened quietly and remained silent as Erica and Roxi took turns gossiping about all of the other members of Next X. She'd heard most of it before, but listened anyway. Being part of Erica and Roxi's circle was something she had never experienced before. Although they considered themselves popular—Roxi and Erica at least—they were feared more than liked. Alia liked to consider herself an insider, always watching them and listening but never joining in.

"Can you believe what I heard about Meiko and James?" Erica asked, scandal dripping from each word as she leaned forward. Her head was propped on her elbows as she lay on her bed, her iPhone in a pink case a few inches away. Every so often her phone would buzz with a text from one of her old friends, setting off the text tones of either "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift or "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.

"That they hooked up?" Roxi replied, sitting cross legged on her bed. "I think that's bull. Have you looked at either of them? They practically breath that obnoxious goody-two-shoes-no-fun vibe."

"It's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for," Erica reminded her as "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" started to play eliciting giggles from Roxi. Erica quickly turned off the ringer with an annoyed grunt.

"I can't believe you broke up with your ex-boyfriend. The pictures you showed me of him were so hot and he keeps calling to say that he loves you. Plus he's super rich. What more could you ask for in a man? Other than—" Roxi started but Erica quickly cut her off.

"Just drop it. We're never getting back together and that's it, but don't you dare go after him." Erica replied, her eyes becoming steely as her tone changed from its usually playful gossipy to dead serious. Roxi rolled her eyes and let out a sigh that all seemed to say whatever. The aerokinetic fixed her with another withering look, but quickly let it dissolve into what Alia knew as her gossip face. Her smile was playful, almost flirty and her eyes danced with mischief. It was the same look Alia saw nearly every day as the daily gossip was relayed to her.

"Hear anything interesting about that movie night thing?" Roxi asked, lying down and rolling onto her back. She kicked the pillow a couple times in frustration. "This place is so dry! I would kill for some kind of scandal, but there aren't even any real couples and half the students are goody-two-shoes'."

"I know. At least some of the guys are super-hot…" Erica giggled as she waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Roxi, making both of them burst out laughing. So she didn't raise suspicious, Alia gave a weak chortle but there wasn't any emotion behind it. Like she wasn't even there, Erica an Roxi continued on as though they didn't even realize she was around. To them, Alia knew, she was a maid, a henchman, and completely unable to get free unless somehow they both disappeared. Or, at least, Erica. Roxi would be a kinder girl if she wasn't always around Erica—the bitch of Bayville as she'd been dubbed by Erica. Having seen the two of them separated, she knew that Roxi was really a decent person when she wasn't around a bad influence. A very bad influence.

"I'm just dying to see what kind of muscles Hunter Harris has under that t-shirt of his. I've seen his arms but I would love to see." Roxi paused to giggle before vaguely finishing. "…the rest."

"Perv, much?" Erica joked, raising her eyebrows jokingly at Roxi.

"No, but I am very creative and I just thought of the best way to spice up the so far boring time we've been having here. What's the fun in staying in our room when there's all that fun to be had at the movie night? I mean, what's the fun in staying in our room when there's fun to be had _with _the movie night. Like, pranking them. In the extreme," Roxi suggested her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. Her eyes narrowed to devious slits as she rolled onto her front and looked at Erica. This was a look that had passed between them only twice before. Both those times, they'd done something bad.

"I like your train of thought," Erica giggled as her smile widened almost like she was baring her teeth. "Continue."

"They said they had punch and I know that Logan keeps alcohol around here so why don't we spike the punch. They'll never know, especially since I'm betting most of them can't tell the difference between normal punch and spike punch. It'll be hilarious," Roxi continued. As she spoke, Erica's grin widened.

Suddenly, Erica's head snapped in Alia's direction and she fixed the Israeli girl with a cold stare. "I know just the person to do it."

"No!" The word slipped through Alia's half open lips before she had a chance to stop it. Her outburst seemed to startle all three of them, including herself. Roxi's eyes narrowed a little bit as she sized up the now beet red Alia, like she would size up an enemy. Erica did the same, her eyes narrowing to slits and making her seem like a cat ready to pounce on its prey.

"You don't want your little secret getting out," Erica threatened her voice soft and even. She wasn't stupid, she knew it would be far too dangerous to spike the punch herself. Especially with how clever the mutants around Xavier's were. The fear on Alia's face was obvious to her and she was betting the older girl's heart was pounding. While Erica was younger, she knew Alia was scared of her. That most of the mutants were scared of her. It had been that way when she'd gone to school back in Cherry Hill. People had always feared her and it was something she both liked and disliked.

Alia slowly nodded.

"Just what I thought," Erica said.

"The alcohol is in the liquor cabinet—there's no key for whatever reason. Now spike the punch and Roxi and I swear we won't tell," Erica hissed, her voice low and dangerous. With each word, her lips drew back and made her look more and more like a snarling animal.

Alia sighed and stood, glancing sadly back at the poor company had chosen. Leaving the room, she wished that she could escape from the vice-like grips of Erica and Roxi.

* * *

Another movie was playing, the light flickering in the dark recreation room but the room was completely empty. They'd all been in the kitchen for about twenty minutes, drinking punch and eating snacks. Small puddles of punch and piles of pieces of chips littered the floor. The whole room stank of alcohol, slightly reminiscent of floor cleaner. Cans of red bull had been pulled out of the fridge by Mia and Zelda, who had been chugging the stuff and hadn't touched the punch. And they were the only ones who hadn't started to seem slightly inebriated.

Rai leaned back with the lower portion of her back pressed against the cool granite of the countertop. A red plastic cup was clutched tightly in her hand—her third drink so far. Hunter stood close to her, holding his own cup as they talked. Their conversation had turned from innocent to flirty in a matter of minutes. Everyone was pretty much oblivious, too caught up in their own worlds to realize what was going on.

"Do is smell weird to you or is it just me?" Mia asked, wrinkling her nose as she looked over at Zelda.

"Kind of…" Zelda agreed, sniffing the air. "Like booze."

"Oh my god, someone must have spiked the punch…" Mia realized as she glanced around the room at everyone who was drinking the punch; Rai and Hunter, getting closer and closer together, Naima sipping her drink as she started playing truth or dare with Mason, Carmon, Reese, and Tatiana who were also drinking. "What the heck are we going to do?"

"Run away and act like we were never here?" Zelda suggested half-heartedly, knowing that Mia would want them to stay and try to fix what was already going on.

"First we have to at least dump the punch and hope that we can do something to get them into bed or at least as far away from Logan as possible. The last thing we need is pretty much everyone grounded," Mia countered as she sadly gazed around the room. Mason was making the dishes dance around the room with his telekinesis as Naima and the other girls laughed. Rai and Hunter had ducked onto the floor to avoid the flying plates, with Rai on Hunter's lap.

"Yeah, this is getting out of hand." Zelda let out a long sigh as she rested against the counter and set down her can of Red Bull. "They look kind of like they each had a thing of Four Loko; which is pretty much like coffee, red bull, beer, and vodka—or that's what I've heard. But you get totally wasted off the stuff after just one can and they look like they're all headed down that road. Rai looks kind of white girl wasted and if we don't stop her I kind of get the feeling she'll be waking up in a not-so-stranger's bed tomorrow."

Mia laughed; "her and Hunter?"

"Totally!"

"No way, they're just friends." Mia argued as she turned her attention to Rai and Hunter. Immediately, she ate her words. Sitting on his lap, pulled tightly against his chest was Rai who's lips were on Hunter's lips.

"Get a room!" Zelda called at them, which didn't seem to faze them one bit as they continued. Seeing as they didn't respond, she stormed towards them and tapped on Rai's shoulder, which definitely got her attention. Jerking away from Hunter like someone was pulling her, Rai slammed into Zelda's legs making the pyrokinetic curse loudly. As Zelda jumped back, Rai fell back onto the floor and gazed upwards.

"Is she okay?" Mason asked, his attention being drawn away from using his powers. Plates smashed against the ground. Bowls shattered as they slammed into the cupboards. Cups careened into the countertops and broke into pieces. He glanced around, shocked. "Sorry…"

"We are so dead," Mia gasped.

"Run for it?" Zelda asked as she looked

"You can do that," Mia said. "I'm staying here with them so I can clean up this mess and hide all the evidence before Logan finds out anything ever went on."

Zelda took off before Mia was half done; "Good luck. I already hear him coming!"

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry it took so long, real life is getting demanding so I don't have as much time to just write and have fun as I used to. I'm hoping to update two or three times a month (probably two) and I want to update on September 13th and then again on the 29th. How's that sound? Deadlines help me focus. A huge thanks to Death for One, Sincerely Anonymous, Sithlord8665, TheWritingGirl23, San child of the wolves, and James95 for reviewing and to Sincerely Anonymous my Beta Reader.**


	7. Chapter 7: Mall Trip

**Next X**

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

A great deal had happened in the days since Alia had been forced to spike the punch. No one had been caught by who they thought was Wolverine, but turned out to be Kurt. Upon fining out Next X recruits were not to leave the grounds of the Xavier Institute, unless in case of emergency, Mia protested. A strong worded letter and a petition signed by every recruit in Next X had been sent to Xavier asking for, at least, excursions. In the end, he had agreed to this and a day trip to the mall planned for those who wanted to go. While the majority had signed up, several had opted out and chose to stay in the mansion instead.

Waiting for eleven, when they were to leave, Erica, Alia, and Roxi were gathered in a loose circle around a collection of pictures and an open journal. A list of other members of Next X, in alphabetical order, was written across the new open pages of the journal. Beside each name was the matching codename and powers. The pictures were of the day when Alia had been forced to spike the punch and Roxi had snapped some photos of the embarrassing incident. In case they ever need them, there were back up files on the computer just waiting to be uploaded to Facebook.

"I can't believe these photos," Erica laughed as she picked up the best picture of the bunch. The shot was of Rai on Hunter's lap as they kiss and is by far the best for black mail out of the whole lot. Drunk shots are funny and all, but this, Erica knew, could seriously do some damage. Maybe enough to embarrass Hunter out of that stupid crush on Rai, Erica thought. A slight grin played across her lips.

Alia watched Erica as she poured over the photographs and shuddered when she say the genuine malice in the other girl's eyes. Those, Alia had thought since the day she really got to know the other girl, are the eyes of a monster. A pretty face with a soul as cold as ice, that's what Alia has started to realize Erica is. Monsters aren't always ugly; sometimes they have perfect smiles with pink lips and pearly white teeth. Those are the most dangerous kind.

"I know, right?" Roxi giggled as she rocked back onto her butt and hugged her knees up against her chest, lifting her feet a little bit above the ground. Her dark silky hair had fallen from its bun and cascaded down her back in an inky river. Alia felt as though she was watching them from far away and they were so cold, distant figures.

"Shouldn't we be by the door?" Alia asked, her voice little more than a quiet, mousy squeak. Erica and Roxi's eyes locked on her, making Alia look at the ground instead of back at them. "You know, so we can be on time for the shuttle to the mall? The two of you have both been talking about how badly you need new clothes and Mr. Logan emphasized how they weren't going to wait for anyone who was late.

Erica exchanged a quick look with Roxi before she said: "Yeah, we do really need new clothes, but not as badly as you. If you're going to be our roommate then you really have to start wearing things that aren't…well…ugly. Your style is seriously in need of a re-vamp."

Alia only bit her lip and kept her now misted eyes fixed on the ground. In her head she continued to tell herself, _it's only three months. It's only three months. Then I get a fresh start away from my father and away from these two. It's only three months…_

"So true, Erica." Roxi told her, getting to her feet and taking her iPhone off of its charger. Erica followed suit and stood up, but her eyes never left Alia as she waited for her to stand. Slowly and keeping her frightened eyes on the ground, Alia straightened and stood up, immediately shuffling towards the door. The room always felt cold with Erica in it and she couldn't help but shiver before disappearing with the slam of a door.

"Why are we even friends with her?" Erica mused aloud as Roxi searched the room for her jacket. It was late summer and fall had begun to tighten its grip on Bayville. Chilly winds had become more and more common in the past few days.

"I have no idea," Roxi replied, bending over to grab her coat. "You were the one who said that she would be useful."

"I'm not always the best judge of character," Erica sighed in annoyance. Her thoughts drifted back to how she'd made Alia spike the punch for them and how she'd used her for the butt of many jokes. A slight sick feeling tugged at the pit of her stomach, but she ignored it. Feelings of guilt were things she'd learned long ago were best to ignore if you wanted to get what you want. She always got what she wanted; popularity, material items, friends, and boys. Alia was just another thing she had wanted, a pawn she'd felt like playing with, but she was getting bored with her. The little Israeli wasn't as much fun as Erica thought she would be.

"Don't put yourself down," Roxi reminded her as the two girls who started for the door and then down the hallway. Other students were coming out of their rooms, but most halted in their doorways when they realized just who was coming down the hall. Wide eyes watched them as whispers spread like wildfire around them. Apparently oblivious, they continued along.

Profanities seemed to be the most common words that were exchanged as the watchers' eyes followed the two girls. "Bitches of Bayville" seemed to also be a favorite. The insults didn't even seem to bother them as the last strands of their long hair disappeared around the bend.

"The people here are _so _immature," Roxi sighed as they started down the staircase, rolling her eyes. Even if she acted like she didn't hear a word that the others said about her, Erica, and Alia, she heard everything. At first, it hadn't seemed so bad. Progressively, as it wore away at her, she started to take it a lot harder.

"I know," Erica sighed. She had grown used to the animosity from people of all kinds and the mutants of the Xavier Institute barely phased her. There'd been far more angry and vengeful than whispering teenagers who thought their words were able to pierce her hide. They did nothing. "I wish there was a higher standard of maturity required for entrance into this program. And maybe cooler powers. Some of them have such sucky powers. Whatever happened to strong mutants like me and you?"

"Alia's powers are so lame, they aren't good for anything," Roxi complained as they hurried through the kitchen where the smell of breakfast lingered. Left over eggs and bacon remains had been left out, stuffed in the fridge, and some of it was even on the floor.

"What about the rest of the punks who got in? Aside from a few, they aren't good for anything and Xavier is just wasting resources on housing them and providing the pitiful lot with so-called 'training.'" Erica grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest, partially because she wanted to express defiance. Alternately, they were walking by Hunter and she wanted her bust to look bigger.

"Hi, Hunter," Roxi said with an amiable smile.

"What's up? " Erica asked, flashing her pearly whites at him. He was one of the few who escaped her reign of terror as the unknowing object of her affections. Each smile from her was sweet and kind, a mask over her usual ugly attitude towards the others in Next X.

"Nothing much, just waiting to leave for the mall. Being cooped up in this mansion all the time is driving me crazy. As much as I'm fine with being around all these people, I guess I just need a bit of a break since I'm around all of you guys 24/7." Hunter sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair, but it only went back to sticking up a bit in the front.

"I get it…" Erica replied solemnly as she leaned against the wall, her hands wedged between the wallpaper and her rear.

"And with the things people say…" Hunter trailed off, but Erica nodded in acknowledgement so he continued. "…about you. I wouldn't want to be here all the time, either."

"It really sucks," Erica sighed, knowing it would be best to milk this for everything it's worth as she bounced a bit on the balls of her feet. She knew Hunter would feel bad for her and that could bring them closer. Getting closer to Hunter was exactly what she wanted. In fact, it's all she really wanted at the moment.

"Hey, well," Hunter sighed just as a car horn blared out front. "I'll see you at the mall hopefully and, ust for the record, I don't believe the rumors about you."

Erica smiled weakly at him.

* * *

Rai let out a sigh of relief as she squeezed out of the stuffy, overcrowded van and into the open air outside of the mall. The change of scenery was a shock for her. People are everywhere and all kinds of every shape and size. Seeing a crowd made Rai want to lose herself in it and never stand out again. Being a mutant was hard, even in the security of the Xavier Institute. Sometimes, on her morning walk around the grounds, she saw graffiti before the older students or teachers could scrub it off. Slurs of all kinds and rude drawings had been put on the walls and gates.

Naima, Kat, and James piled out the van and stepped out to stand beside Rai. They all huddled into a group, waiting for someone to realize that they were mutants. Waiting for the jeers and the bullying to start all over again. But even as Alia and Hunter came out of the van, nothing happened. A few people turned to glance at them, but their gazes did not linger.

"Why's no one saying anything?" Kat whispered to the others a little bit nervously.

"They don't know," Alia realized after a moment, her eyes filling with astonishment as she looked around at the others. With her family, there was a strange sense that they knew about her mutation and depised it. At the Institute, everyone was a mutant and it was a different kind of hierarchy. Out here, with a secret, it was freeing to be seen as human. Having people think she was human was something that Alia didn't realize she'd missed.

A smile broke out across Naima's lips and she told them; "Let's go before the Bitches of Bayville get here and ruin our day."

Rai, Mia, and Naima all glanced over at Alia, remembering she was a part of the group they'd just insulted. Thinking she would react by screaming in rage—like Erica would—or cursing at them—like Roxi would—they were surprised when Alia only smiled and said; "I thought I was the only one who called them that."

"Who knew you might actually be cool?" Naima asked rhetorically as the small group entered the mall and stayed together. Grayson, Morden, and Jake caught up to them, having taken longer to get their things out of the van. Since they had about twenty minutes before the others arrived, Naima decided that they should hit up all the best stores before Erica and Roxi got there. Shopping wasn't as fun when mean girls kept whispering and giggling every time you picked something out.

While the boys watched and played on their phones, Naima forced the other girls to try on things they laughed at in the dressing rooms. Half the clothes she picked for them were jokes—tight gold booty shorts that looked like they were straight out of the nineteen nineties, hideous matronly tops, and dress that looked like they were made from the same material as curtains. Forever 21 supplied the funniest things that they tried on and laughed about, but there were some cute things as well.

In Macy's, the girls tried on a multitude of dresses—slutty, conservative, hideously ugly, and even some prom dresses. A couple ball gowns were thrown in the mix when Naima found a pair of hideous prom dresses. The first was bubblegum pink with poorly stitched on rhinestones that had begun to fall off and it looked like a _Quinceañera_dress gone horribly wrong. The other was an atrocious lime green with a plunging neckline and some much glitter it left a trail.

It was two stores before the planned lunch break and the boys in the group looked nearly ready to strangle Naima. Just when they thought the torture was over, she raced over to them with a huge grin on her face and said: "we're going to just _one _more store. Okay? Okay. Awesome." If it hadn't been for James and Jake, Morden would have been coerced into a dress by Naima. James hated to argue with the rather intimidating girl, but Jake didn't have the same reservations and wasn't afraid to quarrel with her.

"Guys, I have to go to the bathroom," Kat said as Naima paid for her last t-shirt and passed yet another bag to Jake. He may have been the only one who could to talk with her, but he couldn't weasel his way out of carrying all the girls' bags.

None of them even seemed to acknowledge the fact she was gone so Kat seamlessly slid away from the group.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that it took so long, school is beyond tough and I hope that I can have the next chapter by October 27th. I'm so sorry that I can't get these things done sooner, but I have to do well in my classes. **


	8. Chapter 8: Disappearances

**Next X**

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

Meiko, rubbing sleep from her eyes, made her way soundlessly down the hallway in pale purple pajamas with pictures of small white kittens on them. Her hair was rumpled from sleep, despite the fact it was pulled back into a ponytail, with some strands sticking out at odd angles. A little bit of the make-up she'd failed to wash off the night before made her eyes look sunken and slightly raccoon-ish. Gloss from her lips had been smeared a bit off her lips. She wasn't exactly a vision, but drifting down the hallway like a ghost she looked something beyond human.

It had been the bright, un-obscured moonlight streaming through her window that had woken her five minutes early. The dryness in her throat had driven her from the warmth of her bed and forced her to make the long journey to the kitchen.

She continued to rub her eyes as she walked closer to the kitchen, passing through a few walls whenever she didn't feel like walking extra. Sparkles and dark eye shadow brushed off onto her hands. Abruptly, she walked into a wall and stopped. The ghost mutant stayed frozen in place as she heard someone—a very close by someone—speaking in hushed tones, but getting no reply. It took her a few moments, but she deduced they were talking on the phone.

"Yes, yes…" the voice was definitely male, but Meiko, in her half asleep state, could hardly make out who it was. Next X recruit or X-Men team member, she couldn't tell as she tried to rouse herself and wake up at least enough to figure out who it was. She stayed put, eavesdropping. "Everything is in place…of course I'm waiting for your signal. I don't want anything to go wrong…I understand, sir."

Meiko blinked rapidly, trying to clear her hazy vision to look for whoever it was, even though she couldn't exactly tell where the voice was coming from. She sniffed, taking in the smell of cologne and brownies. Vaguely, she remembered that a few of them had been making brownies, but she couldn't figure out who it had been.

_Maybe, one of the people who was making brownies is on the phone. But, Next X or X-Men. Maybe even the New Recruits or one of the teachers. _Meiko reasoned, running her fingers tentatively over the bruise that was swelling on her forehead from walking straight into a wall. There hadn't been much force behind the impact and she would be fine.

"The first one of course has been shipped to you and the next will be on the way as soon as possible." The voice was deeper, almost like the speaker was using a fake voice and a bad one at that. Meiko fought to clear her muddled thoughts to get clearer memories of the members of Next X. But the false voice made it near impossible to tell who it was. Now, the speaker could be male or female. No longer could the assumption be made that whoever this was was not trying to get away with something. Anyone who had to not use their real voice was not up to no good.

Meiko listened closer.

"The first one isn't as powerful as you'd like, but she's the one who as complaining about starting to see things further ahead and not in her own future. Not just while she was awake. While she was sleeping. I overheard her talking with Professor Xavier during her therapy sessions…." There was a pause and Meiko dared not to breathe just in case. "….No, I don't go to them and I think that if I keep avoiding them the Professor is going to figure out that something's up. I just don't want to risk that he might go inside my head and find out."

The ghostly mutant bit her lower lip as she fought to surpress the sneeze that undoubtedly would give her away. At first, it had been sheer curiosity, but as she woke more the severity of the situation began to intensify. Something was going on, Meiko knew and she desperately wanted to know what it was and who exactly was behind it.

_Someone who doesn't go to the therapy sessions with the Professor? Well, the majority do, but not many talk about it much. And what does he mean shipment, the first, or visions? Visions could be Kat and maybe whoever this person is they sent her away somewhere or to someone. _Meiko reasoned, but the thoughts were slow to come even though she tried to force them to move faster. The harder she tried, the slower they formed. Although she'd held in the sneeze, a yawn was welling up.

"I'd never let that old man inside my head. I don't want him to figure out anything about our plan and if he does then he's the last one to worry about. You have the files on all of them; his new group is dangerous and has potential. But they aren't even close to as fearsome as his X-Men or even the New Recruits." The person continued, clearly the so-called "first one" was a member of Next X who'd disappeared. "You know, the real dilemma with the Next X is just how many of them there are. Minus the first shipped one and myself, there's twenty-eight of them. So, who do you need?"

Another pause, kind of short this time.

"I'd recommend Mia Young—a hydrokinetic—Zelda Carter—a pyrokinetic—Erica Merrick—an aerokinetic—Naima—a high level shape shifer—Araia Winters—she has the abilities associated with Valkyries—Meiko Rizzoli—a ghost mutant—Roxanne Lovejoy—she possess a sonic scream." The speaker paused again as she assumed that the person on the other end spoke. "Yes, that's just the girls. The boys? …Henry Kirkpatrick—a telekinetic, who may not be as powerful as Jean Grey, but he still has potential. Victor Styke—an electrokinetic—Vio Valid—can transform parts of his body or the whole—Mason Hilman—psychokinetic—Michael Wilks—a geokinetic. There's a lot of elemental mutants who have potential will be of great use in the oncoming war. They'll be able to cause the most damage. The shifers, the ghost, and some others will make excellent spies for our side."

_Who is this person? Why are they telling someone who we are and in that way—like we're Amazon items waiting to be shipped off to God knows where? _Meiko wondered as she attempted to decipher whether the speaker was male or female. Despite the fake voice, she was beginning to lean towards male as the pretense began to slip.

"Of course there are others who would make excellent additions to any kind of espionage team," another pause and a slight laugh. "You're right. Naturally, there's going to be some who are most useful as cannon fodder. Not just among the Next X, but in the New Mutants. None in the X-Men, with the kind of training they've received and their types of powers. As soon as they're under your control, then the humans will fall easily."

_The humans will fall…? What's going on? _

Meiko sneezed and the voice didn't speak again. Quickly, she sank through the floor and landed in a bathroom on the floor below. If this mystery person was selling off her fellow mutants and plotting with someone to take down humans, they weren't the type of person she really wanted to be around.

"Meiko? It was you?" It sounded just like the mystery voice—only a little bit different and obviously masculine. She stayed frozen, not daring to move or really do anything. "Then I'm really sorry that this is what I has to come to…"

Then Meiko's world went black.

* * *

Hunter was the first to walk into the meeting scheduled for all of the Next X recruits that was being led by Jean Grey. Since she had graduated from Bayville High, she'd become more involved with the new recruits because of Professor Xavier's plan to expand the Institute. Even though she knew any position at a new institute in another city would likely go to Ororo, she wanted the chance to at least be considered. And if Ororo left, Jean wanted to take over her teaching position. Now, she was Next X's official event coordinator. The mall excursion had been her planning and once the Professsor had authorized it she came up with the idea to send the recruits on two more fun trips.

Soon, the others gathered in the room with Rai sitting in the chair beside Hunter's. As Jean walked into the room, Hunter's fingertips gently brushed against Rai's hand. Immediately, she straightened as a chill thrummed up her spine. He rubbed his thumb up and down against her wrist until she jerks her hand away.

Behind them was a scowling Delilah, who was in tune to the emotions of the young couple barely a foot before her. She hated being so close to couples in this way, they projected far too much emotion for her liking even if it was positive. Fears were the worst to be tapped into, even if emotionally "listening in" to a couple left her nauseated and feeling somehow dirty.

Her plain white tee shirt, had begun to feel too tight and the gray knit vest over it felt suffocating, especially when paired with her skinny jeans. She shook her head, sending a cascade of jet black hair falling over her shoulders in an inky waterfall. Thankfully, Jean began to speak so she could focus on something that wasn't anyone else in the room. None of the affection, the sadness, the happiness…the guilt?

_Guilt? _She started trying to search for the source when it vanished.

"After the success of the shopping trip, I spoke with the Professor and he said it would be alright if you all went on a few other trips. After all, normal schools have field trips so it makes sense that mutant schools should have even better field trips." Jean cracked a smile, but the members of Next X merely watched her with blank stares. Nervously, she continued: "the first of these is next week when you will be going camping. This is optional of course, but it will be a ton of fun. Sleeping under the stars, roasting marsh-mellows around the bonfire, and hiking; it's a great trip and I'm sure anyone who goes will have a time they'll never forget.

"A little bit after that, probably towards the end of the second month of the program all of those who want to will be able to go to Six Flags: Great Adventure in New Jersey. It's the home of Kingda Ka, the tallest and fastest rollercoaster in North American. Although, it's probably a garden party after doing Danger Room sessions for several months and having to deal with Logan, even if he can be nice some of the time." Jean continued, trying to gauge a response from her audience.

Reese was leaning forward in her seat to whisper something that Jean only caught fragments of-"rollercoasters" "…no bathrooms"—to Jesse who nodded and laughed a little nervously. Zelda was leaning back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest with a bored expression plain on her face. Tatiana was smiling, even if there was a notable reservations in her eyes. Vienna twirled several strands of purple hair around a finger, her permanently made up face unreadable as ever. Henry appeared more interested in using his telekinesis to move his hair out of his face, even though as soon as he let it out of his power it fell back into his eyes.

"Does anyone have any questions or comments?" Jean asked and immediately several hands shot into the air. She glanced at the crowd before saying: "Hunter, go right ahead."

"Well, I was wondering if there's any kind of fee we have to pay to go on these trips or if we need our parents approval. You know, like with normal school field trips." Hunter inquired and a few snickers passed through the crowd. Very few were still in contact with their parents and out of those that did keep in touch, their families too far away to be watching over them. Delilah and Hunter were even legal adults and didn't require the authorization of their parents.

"No, you don't need any approval from your parents." Jean explained to him. The giggles subsided and returned their attention to her. "Are there any other questions?"

"Do we really just get to go on these trips without having to pay?" Mason blurted out, not bothering to be called on. This provoked laughter from a few of the recruits and Mia put a hand over her mouth to keep from making too much noise.

Jean smiled and replied:"Professor Xavier wouldn't dream of having all of you pay for these things. He opened the Xavier Institute so mutants could have a safe haven and get educated without having to pay."

"Do we have to go camping?" Erica questioned, not even taking the time to raise her hand or look away from her nails, which she was painting. Even though several close by detested the smell, didn't speak up.

"No, it's optional."

"Is this meeting optional?" Erica asked, still not looking up from her nails as she continued to paint them a cherry red color.

"I—" Jean started to say, but was interrupted when Erica got out of her seat, taking her nail polish with her, and left the room. Roxi trailed behind her, but Alia stayed. In the doorway, Erica stopped and throw one last glare at Alia, who kept her gaze firmly fixed on the ground so she didn't have to see. With one final _'hmpf' _Erica stormed out into the hallway with Roxi following after her.

* * *

Darkness was all Kat could see when she opened her eyes, slightly painfully like her eyelids had been glued shut for a long period of time. When her mitch-matched eyes—one sky blue and the other forest green—finally opened, the inky blackness seemed to be crushing in from all sides. Her thin lips felt as though someone had put Krazy glue to hold them together. Each time she tried to open them to take deep breathes and calm herself down, but she couldn't. Through her nose, she could barely get the air she needed to keep the dark spots out of her vision. She could hardly see the dark spots each time she started to run out of oxygen and had to force herself to slow her breathing.

Lying there in the dark, Kat became uncomfortably aware of how her fire red hair had stuck to her skin from the sweat. The oversized tee shirt was cold and wet as were the skull print boxers she always seemed as though she'd been dipped in freezing water. For all she knew, she might have been. Nothing in the past few hours, or Kat thought it was hours, made much sense. It was only a disjointed mess of pictures.

The picture that came up most often was of walking down a white tiled hallway towards the women's bathroom when the lights began to flicker. A sick feeling filled her stomach during this point of the video-like recollection. She watched herself continue walking, taking each step carefully as though she was walking through a mine field. Nausea swept over her in a wave, making her feel as though she was going to lose her lunch right there in the hallway.

"Kat?" a voice had called out, causing her to stop and quickly turn around only to be enveloped by darkness. The feeling of strong hands, grabbing her, holding her, restraining her comes along this time and prompted her to attempt to cry out.

Back in the dark room, Kat cried out and the sound rings out, reverberating against the walls and echoing back to her. Her voice was weak and her cry was little more than a whimper.

A blinding light burst from what Kat suddenly realized is a door and a figure enters the room through it. The unexpected brightness blinded her for a moment, making it impossible for Kat to see anything other than the painful white brilliance of the light. She squinted, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the light. Once they had, she nearly screamed again.

In the light, she could clearly see that it was an operating table she was tethered to with leather straps binding her wrists and ankles. The room was cold and sterile, an operating room with many tools and machines that she didn't recognize. Being an orphan and never really going to a regular doctor's office and never having been in a real operating room, the only rooms such as this she'd seen were in horror movies and medical television shows.

As soon as she'd finished taking in the room, her gaze found the figure standing in the door way and she screamed.

* * *

After leaving the meeting, which had dispersed shortly after Erica's departure, Delilah had returned to her room in search of Kat. They frequently spent time together and since Reese and Carmon were hardly ever in the room, they most often hung out in Delilah's room. Kat roomed with Vienna and Tatiana, neither of whom she was too fond of. Normally, their visits involved very little speaking and they would often just spend time sitting side-by-side in silence. Neither particularly wanted to talk for the majority of the time and they merely wanted company.

Still, it disturbed Delilah that her only friend in the mansion was missing. She didn't really have any idea where Kat could have gone or why she would have left. She thought Kat loved being in the mansion and that she had no family she could have left and gone to. None of it made sense. Kat should have at least left a note, Delilah reasoned, or told Xavier. And where could she have even gone, she wasn't close to eighteen and she certainly had no way to survive on her own.

Now, she walked through the mansion waiting to run into someone so she could ask them if they had seen Kat. Maybe, Delilah thought, Kat was angry with her and was hiding out to avoid her. Even though this made no sense to Delilah since they spoke so little how could she have angered the younger girl.

Zelda and Naima were the first to be spotted by Delilah, walking down the hall as they talked. The pyrokinetic's reddish black hair had been pulled back into a ponytail. Recently, she'd cut it from waist length to shoulder length—a dramatic change for her. With no hair in her face, her golden eyes were even brighter than usual. The image inducer Professor Xavier had given her gave her the illusion of pale skin inside of the fierce dark red it usually was. In a dark tank top with equally dark skinny jeans, combat boots, and leather fingerless gloves her projected pale skin made her look like some kind of regal Ice Princess, which the fiery mutant was the exact opposite of.

Naima in a light blue midriff exposing top, skinny jeans that sat low on her hips, and black sneakers over white socks was a stark contrast. Her tan Egyptian skin and dark hair pulled up into a ponytail that matched Zelda's. Against the dark backdrop, her light blue eyes were a surprise and the color was so crisp it was reminiscent of a clear sky during winter; cold and clean.

"Have you seen Kat?" Delilah's voice was riddled with fear, a fear that only intensified when both girls shock their head and hurried away, tossing her looks like she was some kind of crazy.

The olive-skinned Amon Patel was the next person that Delilah encountered. He was one of the quieter students that the others didn't know very much about. Everyone said that he was an easygoing boy and kind of a follower by nature. Delilah hadn't encountered him many times and had only looked at him a handful more. He was a good enough looking young man who stood a good several inches above her with a thin build. He was actually decently handsome barefoot in khaki shorts and a blue polo.

"Hello, good afternoon, Delilah," He said, smiling a little bit nervously at her. Her eyes were wild, crazy even, but that didn't mean he was about to be rude to her. It meant he wanted to get away from her as soon as he could without making it too obviously.

"Have you seen Kat?" Delilah repeated the question frantically, only to receive a quizzical look in return.

"Who's Kat?" Amon inquired.

"Kathrine Proctor, Oracle, an Olympian." Delilah's words were pleading when she spoke and Amon felt guilty he couldn't help her more.

"Sorry, haven't seen her." Amon said reluctantly before hurrying off before Delilah had the chance to interrogate him further.

_What happened to her?_

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it takes so long to get these chapters up, but the first quarter just ended yesterday and I'm very stressed out. My goal is about a chapter a month and it's sad how hard that is, but once I get some breaks things should speed up so Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanks for staying with me guys and a huge thanks to Sincerely Anonymous, TheWritingGirl23, Crazzygurl123, chinaluv, and San child of the wolves for reviewing. **


	9. Chapter 9: Another Two Down

**Next X**

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

Alia's day had been a whirlwind. The camping group had left that morning at five in the morning. People were trudging through the hallways, muttering in audible voices, waking Erica up. The rustle of the sheets, high pitched groan, and her thumping steps woke up Alia and Roxi. If Erica was bad later in the day, she was like a demon unleashed from hell at five at this time. Erica then promptly shrieked at the top of her lungs about her "beauty sleep" and started a pillow fight in which no one was allowed to fight back (In actually, Erica was just beating and throwing pillows at Alia and Roxi). She eventually wore herself out and fell asleep still clutching a pillow. These kinds of outbursts from her roommates made Alia wonder if she really was in hell. She believed in a heaven and a god, but never a hell. Erica Merrick was making her second guess herself.

After that delightful twenty minutes of seeing Erica without make-up with an "I will kill everyone" expression on her face, Alia hadn't been able to get to sleep. Instead, she'd lay in bed and silently wept. It wasn't just Erica who made her cry; it was missing her family so far away in Israel, and her old self. The one who would have stood up to Erica, the one she desperately wanted back.

She had become so bitter at her roommates that all she could think about was beating them up. Anger had weighed her down during the first mall trip, feeling like a ball of lead that was jostling around in her stomach which made her sick. Yet, she had let herself be dragged to yet another small excursion to the mall. During the car ride, she attempted to avoid listening or looking at the girls who had made her life miserable. Her mutation, however, made this more difficult to do since she could enhance one of the human senses. She focused on her sense of taste so that her sense of hearing and seeing was minimal. It helped a little but every time she did catch a glimpse of Erica's face, she felt a sudden urge to slap her so hard the pound of make-up on her face came off. It would serve her right to be make-up-less in public, Alia thought bitterly as she stepped out of the car and her senses returned like a punch in the face.

Over her time with Erica and Roxi, she'd learned things that they didn't even know about themselves (or liked to pretend didn't exist). She even kept a small list on her iPhone, hidden away in an obscure note taking app where her roommates would never find it. The title was "Weaknesses." About Erica, she'd learned make-up was her shield. It was what allowed her to mask her emotions and made her seem like emotional Troy, unable to be penetrated. Too bad her Trojan horse was coming to break through those infamous walls.

Roxi was more complicated. Her attitude of "Daddy's Little Girl" had been dulled next to Erica, but beneath it Alia knew there was a nicer side that loathed how Erica treated her. And, of course, there was her teddy bear. If anything happened to Mr. Kuddles, it would destroy Roxi, especially if Erica found out. He was Roxi's dirty little secret, always hidden under her bed at the very bottom of a small pile of miscellaneous items.

She allowed herself to be dragged into Delia's, Forever 21, Nordstroms, Bloomingdales, Akira, and what felt like thousands of other stores. Erica forced her into a few outfits then mercilessly criticized her until she spent five minutes trying to hide tears in a dressing room. Roxi didn't fare much better when she tried on outfits. Both seemed relieved when Erica declared it was time for lunch and marched them to the food court.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Alia sighed, not lying, she felt ill, but this didn't seem to stop Erica from giving her another tongue lashing.

Erica, the haughtiest aerokinetic around snorted before she said: "Hon, you have to eat before you throw up. That's how bulimia works, but do what you want." Alia and Roxi looked at each other shocked at what she just uttered. Roxi was a Bayville witch but even she thought Erica's comment was out of line. Alia pursed her lips walking away, restraining herself from knocking the girl out.

Alia walked down the same hallway to the women's bathroom that Kat had taken when she presumably disappeared. A cold shudder ran through her as she wondered if the same fate that befell Kat would happen to her. Even if she worried, she felt as though it would be a wonderful way to escape from Erica and Roxi's vise-like hold on her. Allowing herself to slip away into her thoughts and her body went into autopilot, she hardly noticed the figure following after her with feline stealth.

"Alia….?" The gender of the voice was indiscernible, but it still made the Israeli girl turn around and her eyes widened in shock. A name formed on her lips, however, she never had the chance to speak. Or to _scream_.

* * *

"_The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round," _Rai sang loudly as she took another drink from her bottle of Coca-Cola and leaned against Mia, laughing happily. It was her third bottle of Cola along with a pack of "Family Sized" skittles that Mia bought for the two of them, but didn't touch. The sugar rush had hit. And it was hitting hard. Along with singing incredibly annoying road trip music, Rai had been bouncing up and down in her seat. The singing was what really got to the other eleven recruit passengers on the bus.

Through his headphones, listening to a book on tape, so he was peacefully spared from having to hear several renditions of "The Wheels on the Bus" and "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall." Mercifully, some thought, she hadn't yet gotten on to the pop songs and Scott, who was acting as the bus driver, hadn't turned on the radio.

"We should turn on the radio!" Mia yelled, giggling as she took a swig of Cola from the bottle, acting as though it was alcohol. She was imitating Rai—and drunk people on television—partially just to keep Rai acting like a crazy person. The way she saw it, was that if Rai saw her acting wild then she would keep it. Anyways, it was fun to go a little wild sometimes.

In her life before the Xavier Institute, Mia had been the daughter of a plumber who lived in a family apartment. Since the majority of her friends were from her church, there was a certain degree of behavior that was expected to them. If the Mia living in Grand Haven, Michigan; saw herself now she would probably never believe it. Quiet, mild-mannered, and usually calm was what her church friends used to describe her. Rai would likely say: childish, fun, and a little bit crazy sometimes. Chocolates, sweets, and new friends change people sometimes.

A chorus of groans arose from the six boys who had decided to come on the trip, with the exception of Hunter, who laughed. He enjoyed having any reason to watch Rai, even if it was because she looked like she was kind of losing her mind. Avery, Jesse, Henry, Mason, and Michael didn't exactly see things from his point of view. Despite the protests, Scott turned on the radio and cranked it up, hoping it would drown out Rai's off key singing.

"_Tonight let's get some and live while we're young!" _Mia and Rai sang together. Much like Mia, Rai was almost nothing like the shy and at one time introverted girl she'd been. Leading the Olympians through Danger Room sessions had brought out a confidence she never thought she'd have. The social awkwardness vanished in the fourth routine Danger Room session when she'd been tossed in the air like a rag-doll by a Sentinel and had been in Nimbus' arms for an uncomfortably long time. Having James used his X-Ray vision to make sure nothing was broken, felt so much like an invasion of privacy that it forced her to toughen. Erica, Alia, and Roxi's cruel words had hardened her skin.

The Xavier Effect, as Grayson called it at one time, showed just how much everyone changed through experiencing the Institute. Other students could be cruel, but most were supportive. Locker rooms for changing and sharing bathrooms (not just with people of the same gender) desensitized most to discomfort with their bodies. Roommates and teams made them begin to learn to rely on each other, to trust, while still standing alone. It turned everyone who came to the mansion into an almost entirely new person. A better version of themselves, Hunter had once told a few of his friends while they were studying for a test in Mr. McCoy's Literature and Composition class.

"Other than having woken up at 5 this morning and having to listen to that," Reese started to say to Carmon as she nodded towards Mia and Rai. "I think that this trip is off to an excellent start and the forests we keep driving through just get prettier and prettier. I love this so much."

Carmon was about reply when Rai yelled: "Come on everyone! Let's all sing."

Cheers rose from the group and Carmon and Reese joined in, laughing a little bit.

* * *

As soon as they arrived at the campsite, the twelve recruits poured out of the bus, eager to stretch their legs after several hours on the road. Rai had crashed from her sugar high an hour and a half before they arrived. Now, she was the only one who lagged behind on the bus with the teachers. It took a little bit of coaxing from Jean and Mia to get her out to into the open air.

Wind gently rustled the leaves that had just begun to turn from green to orange. The few leaves that had turned shades of vibrant orange or deep red were littered across the clearing. There was no grass in the clearing, only solid, packed earth which made it easier to set up the tents. With the antics of several recruits—Rai and Mia—who spent half the time horsing around, it took close to an hour to get everything set up. As soon as this was done, the teachers stepped away to discuss their activity plans, leaving the group of twelve teenagers alone.

"Is there anything, in particular we could do?" Tatiana, one of the younger members of the group, inquired, piping up for the first time that trip.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm kind of tired. I hate long road trips and then we had to set up camp, which was tiring. How about we call it an early night, the sun's setting and it's probably around six or seven, probably six-thirty." Rai sighed, punctuating her statement with a loud yawn that made Grayson snort.

"It's only 5:40," Henry argued. "I came on this trip because I wanted the chance to do something fun, not because I wanted to sleep on the uncomfortable ground. If I liked sleeping on hard dirt, I would sleep outside the mansion by the woods."

"I think there's supposed to be a stream nearby, a swim would be really nice, especially since this might be one of the last chances we get. The later we get into fall, the less warm days we'll have to go swimming even if Zelda can superheat the pool in the blink of an eye." Hunter suggested.

The group debated for a few minutes, but from the start the outcome was obvious. The final vote came out to eleven in favor and one against the idea. Rai made her way towards the tent that she was sharing with Mia, Tatiana, Reese, Grayson, and Carmon as the others went off to find the stream after grabbing bathing suits.

Hunter led the way through the fall trees, picking his way through shrubs and doing the best he could to avoid poison ivy. The sun, although it's light was fading as it drew closer to the horizon, was still burning brightly. Warmth was still prevalent and without a cloud in the sky, it was a decent enough day to go swimming if not a little brisk. It was obviously one of the last few days nice days there would be and Hunter was fully intent on enjoying it.

"Are we almost there?" Tatiana asked for the third time as she clambered across a fallen tree with some help of Henry's telekinesis. He set her down on the other side and gestured to the stream that was only about five feet away. Only about six feet deep, it was slow flowing and clear. The rocks leading down to it were coated in a thin layer of moisture making them slippery.

"I'd say the answer is yes," Reese replied as she watched Mia charge into the water sending a spray up around her. The hydrokinetic hadn't even bothered to strip down to her bathing suit before sliding under the surface of the water. She came up grinning despite the fact her white shorts were now transparent and through them the dark green bottoms of her bikini could be seen.

Michael laughed as he grabbed Reese, threw her over his shoulder, and carried her down to the water. She cursed and yelled at him while trying to push her auburn curls out of her eyes. Ignoring her pleas, he waded out to where it came out to the middle of his chest before tossing Reese into the water. Those still on the bank laughed as Mia, who, was floating on her back, squealed when she was hit by the spray from Reese's splash.

The auburn haired girl came up sputtering and gasping, while desperately trying to push her dripping curls out of her face. As soon as her eyes were clear, she turned a murderous gaze on Michael, who hadn't thought to move away. She dove under the water, a move that confused everyone, and a few seconds Michael was dragged under the surface. Mia kicked her legs to help the current move herself away from the rough housing.

After pulling a red shirt on over her black bikini, Carmon sat down on a rock in the shallow part of the stream. Being made of metal, she couldn't go out into the water deeper than her chest because of her tendency to sink. From her place on the rock, she watched as a splash fight broke out between a team of boys and a team of girls. Mia, backed up by Grayson and Reese, hurled entire waves at Michael, Hunter, and Henry. Using his telekinesis, Henry blocked her ferocious water attacks, but the water was all around them and it was hard to stop her even with telekinesis.

They battled in the swell for nearly half an hour until Jean came down to tell them that dinner was ready by the camp fire. Soaking wetting and dripping water, they trudged up the path after Carmon, who's clothes were dry. Hunter and Michael raced half the way to campsite as soon as they caught the smell of food. After getting to the campsite, they devoured nearly half the hotdogs before anyone else had a chance at them. Despite complaints, the others divvied up the potato chips—which they refused to share with the two who ate all the hotdogs—and what was left of the hotdogs.

"Should we be going to bed soon?" Mia asked with a yawn. "Rai's already passed out and snoring really loud. Besides, I'm really tired even though we hardly had anything to eat because of Michael and Hunter."

"Sorry," the two boys chorused in unison.

"I guess we should," Jesse replied. "The teachers are already asleep and we said we'd be following suit like twenty minutes ago, even though we promised it would only be five minutes."

"I'm tired, anyways," Tatiana mumbled as she got up and walked to her tent. The other girls followed her and the boys also went to bed a few minutes later.

* * *

The moon hung low in the sky, barely anything more than a sliver that was hidden behind passing wisps of clouds almost every minute. The forest was plunged into nearly total darkness and everything was still, although the animals were all holding their breath. The campsite was peaceful and still, so much so that it almost looked deserted. Rai's snoring had stopped after Mia rolled her onto her side.

In the girl's tent, Mia had rolled over so much as she was sleeping she was almost draped over Rai, who she was sleeping next to. Carmon lay sprawled out taking nearly all the room in the already cramped tent, which was helping things any. Lying back to back by the door, Reese and Grayson breathed perfectly in-sync like they were the same person.

The situation in the boy's tent was only worse. Henry had curled into a ball in the corner of the tent in a cat-like fashion to avoid the other boys, most of who were lying across the tent. Jesse, Michael, and Hunter lay spread eagle like they were all in a competition for space and were more or less lying on top of each other. Mason lay close to the tent wall, pressed up against it with his nose peeking out through a ripped piece in the tent. This had been a problem earlier in the night, when it rained for a half hour, but the smell of wet earth had quickly lulled him back to sleep. Avery sat by the shoes, at the tent door, sleeping against the tent wall and nearly knocking over the whole thing.

A scream shattered the peace of the night into a thousand little pieces. Animals were dragged from their dreams and into the waking world. Something none of them responded well to and a chorus of birds chirping, squirrels squeaking, and hundreds of other animals making a variety of noises filled the air. Along with the animals, nearly all of the recruits were roused. Rai remained asleep, breathing deeply even after Mia and the others scrambled sleepily to their feet. At this time of year, there weren't many other people camping so it was most likely one of their own. And if it wasn't, they were still obliged to help.

Reese, Grayson, and Henry were the first three out into the clearing. The teachers had in earplugs to keep from being disturbed and remained fast asleep in their own tent. Everyone else with the exception of Mia and Rai arrived about a minute afterwards, tugging on various articles of clothing. Last to arrive, was Mia dragging a very sleepy Rai. Both of them till wore pajamas under their coats.

The morning was brisk as the recruits assembled in a jumbled semicircle of sorts to discuss who was missing and what the best course of action was.

"Should we do a role call or something to see whose missing?" Jesse suggested, his speech slurred with sleep.

"No," Grayson snapped, looking like she was a couple seconds away from slapping him upside the head. Being woken up in the middle of the night had a tendency to make her irritable, as it did with most people. "It's pretty obvious that it's Tatiana who isn't here."

"Well, where is she?" Mason asked shyly.

"If we knew that, there wouldn't be any kind of problem now would there!?" Avery snarled at him, making Mason cower away from him.

"There are footprints on the pathway," Reese observed, pointing to them. "If we follow them they might lead us to Tatiana."

The group started off into the woods, following after Tatiana's footprints, while being careful not to step on them in case they needed to back track. Mia silently thanked God that it had rained earlier that night so their friend could leave footprints and they could track her in case she was in trouble. Through trees, over logs, and countless patches of shrubbery they walked after Tatiana's footprints. Several times, they lost them before they came to the same river bank they'd been to beforehand.

Walking along the stream, was none other than their missing friend dressed in black pajamas with her chestnut hair pulled into the bun she wore it to sleep in. She walked slowly, like she was in some kind of trance.

"Tati—" Rai started to call before Hunter clamped his hand over his mouth and whispered to her, "never wake a sleepwalk, especially when they're that close to a river and could fall in. She's not hurt now, the last thing we want is her to hit her head on those rocks and seriously injure herself, especially if we can't find the way back in time. None of us have healing powers and the nearest hospital is far away, we can't risk is."

"Then how do you suggest we get her back to the camp site?" Carmon asked Rai and Hunter in a hushed whisper. "We'll have to wake her up."

"But only once we get her away from that water," Michael chimed in, suppressing a yawn and looking like he was going to fall asleep on his feet. He rubbed the sleep from eyes and yawned again.

"I'll get her," Henry said and without waiting he reached out and pulled her toward them a little shakily. She hovered a few feet above the ground and he had to go slowly to keep her from waking up. If she woke up and began to struggle, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold her. He set her down a few feet in front of them and the others took her back, but Henry hung back to look for the shoes he left by the river earlier.

A hand came down on his shoulder and Henry turned around. He barely had time to gasp before a the person smashed his fist into Henry's head, making him crumple to the ground.

"Sorry, man, I really am."

* * *

**A/N: A huge thank you to my lovely Beta Reader, Sincerely Anonymous! Think you to Crazzygurl123, chinaluv, flying feather scribbles, Death For One, Sithlord8665, San child of the wolves, and DoubleCrescentMoon for reviewing. So sorry for keeping you all waiting, I've just been working very hard on school. The next chapter will hopefully be up in a week or two. **


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